,l;j.'  =  'V-.. 


I'iii'iiri!!:!' 
V;.:;;|i:!!;': 

'' '  ily'i! 

Jl'l'!;; 


jj  ji!,  i,:. 


UBRARY  OF  PRIN 


f ' 


THEOLOGICA! 


Q^V 


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Meyer,  F.  B.  1847-1929. 
Our  daily  homily 


Our  Daily  Homily 
Volume  IV:    Isaiah-Malachi 


By  Rev.  F.  B.  Meyer 


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Our   Daily  Homily 


Volume  IV:  Isaiah-Malachi 


By  the  Rev. 

F.  B.  MEYER,  B.A. 


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The  Shepherd  I'salm,"  "Old  TesUment  Iferocn,' 
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**The  Scriptures  are  well  called  Holy  Scrip- 
tures ;  and  though  assailed  by  camp,  by  battery, 
and  by  mine,  they  are,  nevertheless,  an  house 
built  upon  a  rock,  and  that  rock  impregnable. 
The  weapon  of  offence  which  shall  impair  their 
efficiency  for  aiding  in  the  redemption  of  man- 
kind has  not  yet  been  forged.  And  the  Sacred 
Canon,  which  it  took  (perhaps)  two  thousand 
years  from  the  accumulations  of  Moses,  down  to 
the  acceptance  of  the  Apocalypse  to  construct,  is 
like  to  wear  out  the  storms  and  the  sunshine  of 
the  world,  and  all  the  wayward  aberrations  of 
humanity,  not  merely  for  a  time  as  long,  but  until 
time  shall  be  no  more." 

The  late  W.  E.  Gladstone. 


OUR  DAILY  HOMILY 


/  will  purge  away  thy  dross  ^  and  take  away  all 
thine  alloy.  ha.  i.  2s  (r.  v.,  marg.). 

THE  silver  had  become  dross.  Jerusalem, 
the  chosen  city,  was  filled  with  infidelity,  formal- 
ism, impurity,  and  deeds  of  violence.  She  had 
been  full  of  judgment,  righteousness  had  lodged 
in  her;  but  now,  murderers.  And  this  was  the 
reason  for  the  blows  that  had  fallen  upon  her 
with  such  unsparing  force.  The  whole  land  was 
now  desolate ;  the  cities  burned  with  fire ;  only 
a  small  remnant  of  the  people  was  left.  The 
prophet,  his  patriot  heart  wrung  with  grief,  com- 
pares her  to  a  sick  man  in  the  last  stage  of  dis- 
ease, the  whole  head  is  sick,  and  the  whole  heart 
faint;  from  the  sole  of  the  foot,  even  unto  the 
head,  there  is  no  soundness  in  it.  Would  it  not 
be  well  for  us  to  search  our  hearts,  and  ask 
whether  there  may  not  be  some  counterpart  to 
this  in  our  declension  from  our  God,  and  the 
consequent  suffering  to  which  we  have  been 
brought?  He  loves  us  too  well  to  allow  the 
process  of  deterioration  to  go  unchecked. 

But  here  the  Almighty  Lover  of  His  people  re- 
solves to  bring  His  hand  to  the  work  of  entire 
purging  and  cleansing.  He  will  no  longer  sim- 
ply punish.  He  will  take  away  the  men  who 
had  been  His  adversaries  and  enemies  from  the 
midst  of  His  people,  thoroughly  purging  away 
the  dross  and  taking  away  all  the  tin.  There  is 
an  immeasurable  difference  between  punishing 
and  refining.  It  is  a  great  matter  for  the  soul, 
when  God  ceases  from  the  one  and  commences 
the  other;  and  when  we  no  longer  suffer  from 
the  results  of  past  sins,  but  are  restored  as  at  the 
first,  and  converted  as  at  the  beginning. 
1 


O  House  of  Jacob y  come  ye,  a7id  let  us  lualk  in 
the  light  of  the  Lord.  ha.  U.  j. 

TO  what  a  walk  are  we  called  !  In  newness 
of  life:  "Like  as  Christ  was  raised  from  the 
dead  to  the  glory  of  the  Father."  hi  Christ: 
"As  ye  have  received  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord,  so 
walk  ye  in  Him."  Like  Christ:  "He  that 
saith  he  abideth  in  Him,  ought  so  to  walk  even 
as  He  walked."  By  and  after  the  Spirit: 
"Walk  by  the  Spirit,  and  ye  shall  not  fulfill 
the  lusts  of  the  flesh."  Worthy  of  God  arid 
well  pleasing  to  Him  :  "  Walk  worthy  of  the 
Lord  unto  all  well-pleasing,  being  fruitful."  In 
heavenly  love,  and  light,  and  faith  :  '  *  Walk  in 
love";  "Walk  in  the  light,  as  He  is  in  the 
light"  ;   "  Walk  by  faith,  not  by  sight." 

This  invitation  is  primarily  addressed  to  the 
house  of  Jacob.  Sometimes  the  elect  people  are 
spoken  of  as  Israel ;  but  when  Jacob  is  used,  they 
are  reminded  of  the  vein  of  duplicity  and  chican- 
ery which  lies  imbedded  in  their  nature.  Such 
people  need  specially  to  "walk  in  the  light  of 
the  Lord"  until  the  brooding  darkness  of  their 
nature  is  dispelled.  You  will  never  succeed  in 
ridding  yourself  of  the  self-life,  with  its  jealousies 
and  impurities,  until  you  have  learned  to  walk  in 
the  light  of  the  Lord.  Nothing  is  so  hostile  to 
disease  and  corruption  as  light  and  air;  believe 
me,  the  one  way  by  which  we  can  become  sound 
and  strong  is  to  abide  in  Christ,  that  He  may 
abide  in  us. 

JValk  involves  steps.  We  cannot  enjoy  the 
presence  of  God  as  a  whole  unless  it  governs  and 
illumines  every  step.  We  must  be  perpetually 
looking  into  our  Father's  face  and  asking  where 
to  place  the  next  step.  We  must  have  fellowship 
with  Him  in  all  things  ;  then  we,  who  have  been 
darkness,  will  be  light  in  the  Lord,  and  as  we 
walk  in  the  light  we  shall  become  children  of 
light. 

2 


/  will  not  he  an  healer  :  .   .   .  make  me  7iot  a 
ruler  of  the  people.  Isa.  Hi.  7. 

GENERALLY  men  aspire  to  be  rulers ;  the 
emolument  and  honor  of  the  position  are  infi- 
nitely attractive.  But  the  prophet  supposes  a  case 
in  which  the  people  gather  round  one  who  has 
saved  a  little  more  than  the  others  from  the  gen- 
eral wreck,  and  entreat  him  to  assume  the  re- 
sponsibility of  directing  public  affairs.  But  he 
refuses,  not  wishing  to  be  involved  in  the  dis- 
asters that  have  swept  the  fatherland.  Isaiah 
cites  this  as  the  most  complete  evidence  of  the 
desperate  situation  brought  about  by  wrongdo- 
ing. 

It  is  the  mark  of  great  deterioration  in  a  reli- 
gious community  when  none  are  forthcoming  to 
take  responsibility,  none  who  have  power  to  lead. 
It  is  a  grave  sentence,  **  I  will  give  children  to 
be  their  princes,  and  babes  shall  rule  over  them." 
Never  shrink  from  assuming  any  responsibility  to 
which  God  and  the  Church  evidently  call  you. 
It  is  an  easier  life  to  remain  among  the  stunted 
undergrowth ;  but  if  God  calls  you  to  be  a  forest 
tree,  with  fast-spreading  branches,  humbly  accept 
the  opportunity,  and  fill  up  its  full  measure. 
His  grace  is  sufficient.  Better  to  fail  in  a  great 
endeavor  than  to  live  safely  having  evaded  the 
Divine  call.  Have  you  bread  and  clothing? 
account  yourself  God's  steward. 

What  a  striking  contrast  is  suggested  to  the 
love  of  Jesus  Christ !  **He  saw  that  there  was 
no  man,  .  .  .  therefore  His  own  arm  brought 
salvation."  He  knew  that  if  He  espoused  the 
cause  of  our  lost  race,  it  would  involve  Him  in 
the  bitterest  agony  and  woe.  But  He  steadfastly 
set  His  face  to  the  accomplishment  of  our  re- 
demption :  He  stood  up  to  plead  our  cause  :  and 
He  will  not  lay  down  His  chosen  work  until  He 
hath  brought  judgment  unto  victory. 
3 


Over  all  the  glory  a  canopy. 

Isa.  iv.  J  (R.  v.). 

THESE  twain,  the  pillar  of  cloud  by  day,  and 
the  flaming  fire  by  night,  were  reserved  in  the 
wanderings  for  the  tabernacle  only ;  but  this 
promise  predicts  that  they  shall  be  the  heritage 
of  each  individual  home.  "The  Lord  will 
create  over  every  dwelling-place  of  Mount  Zion, 
a  cloud  and  smoke  by  day  and  the  shining  of  a 
flaming  fire  by  night"  (r.  n.,  marg.).  Each 
family  may  have  its  own  cloudy  pillar  to  guide, 
its  own  illumination  through  the  dark  hours,  its 
own  canopy  from  storm  and  rain  and  heat.  Let 
this  be  your  comfort:  though  your  family  is 
scattered  afar,  all  the  members  may  dwell  in  the 
same  pavilion,  be  directed  by  the  movements  of 
the  same  pillar-cloud,  and  enlightened  by  the 
glow  of  the  same  fire.  In  God  there  is  no  dis- 
tance ;  and  they  who  abide  in  Him  live  in  a 
dwelling-place  which  is  wild  enough  to  include 
the  world,  but  narrow  enough  to  draw  our  hearts 
into  so  small  a  circle  that  God  and  we  and  our 
loved  ones  may  touch. 

There  is  even  more  than  this  suggested  in  these 
words.  Each  holy  soul  may  have  all  the  gracious 
contents  of  this  promise,  because  it  has  become 
the  temple  of  the  indwelling  Lord,  through  the 
Holy  Spirit.  For  thee  there  may  be  the  pillar- 
cloud,  arising  to  guide  thy  steps  through  the 
wilderness  world,  or  settling  down  with  its  fleecy 
folds  to  rest.  For  thee,  through  long  dark 
nights,  the  pillar  of  fire — and,  indeed,  only  the 
darkness  can  reveal  the  bright  light  in  the  cloud. 
For  thee  also  the  canopy — ^for  it  is  written,  "  He 
shall  spread  His  tabernacle  over  them  "  (Rev. 
xxi.  3,  Gk.).  How  God  suits  Himself  to  our 
varying  need — now  a  cloud,  again  as  fire;  in  the 
storm  a  covert,  from  the  heat  a  shadow.  He  is 
always  adapting  His  help  to  our  need. 
4 


What  could  have  been  done  more  to  my  vineyard, 
that  I  have  not  done  in  it  ?  Isa.  v.  4. 

THIS  is  what  the  Owner  of  all  souls  will  say 
of  His  dealings  with  each  when  the  discipline 
and  husbandry  of  time  are  over.  Each  of  us  is 
God's  vineyard,  and  for  each  God  has  done  the 
best  possible.  At  the  end  of  all  things  God  will 
have  no  reason  to  feel  that  had  He  adopted  some 
other  method,  the  barren  waste  of  some  heart 
would  have  brought  forth  fruit.  It  will  be  seen 
then.  Omniscience  itself  being  witness,  that  every 
soul  of  man  had  the  chance  of  becoming  a  fruit- 
ful vineyard ;  and  if  he  became  the  reverse,  it 
was  due  to  no  failure  in  either  the  wisdom  or 
grace  of  God. 

It  is  hard  to  believe  this,  hard  to  think  that 
you  would  not  have  done  better  in  some  other 
circumstances ;  but  it  is  nevertheless  true  that  God 
could  not  have  done  better  or  more.  He  has 
trenched  for  water,  gathered  out  stones  which 
had  hindered  your  fruitfulness,  and  planted  you 
with  slips  from  the  True  Vine.  There  has  been 
the  tower  of  His  protection,  and  the  wine-press 
of  suffering  !  Ah,  how  eagerly  He  has  looked 
that  you  should  bring  forth  grapes  !  The  pity  of  it 
is  that  there  has  been  nothing  but  the  wild 
growth  of  nature  !  But  God  cannot  take  the 
blame  for  this.  He  could  not  have  done  more 
than  He  has  done.  Alas  that  we  should  have 
so  often  thwarted  Him  ! 

'*When  I  looked."  **The  Father  seeketh," 
our  Saviour  said.  He  comes  down  the  garden 
path  full  often,  seeking  from  us  the  fruits  of  the 
Spirit,  the  grace  of  prayer  and  supplication,  the 
plants  of  His  delight.  "  Let  us  see,"  He  says, 
"whether  the  vine  hath  budded,  and  its  blossom 
be  opened,  and  the  pomegranates  be  in  flower." 
Too  often  it  is  as  when  Jesus  looked  for  figs — 
there  was  nothing  but  leaves  ! 
5 


Each  07ie  had  six  wings, 

Isa,  vi.  2. 

SERAPHIM  signifies  **  burning  ones,"  to  des- 
ignate their  essence,  their  dazzling  appearance, 
or  their  intense  devotion.  But  whatever  the 
symbol  stands  for,  they  needed  the  six  wings. 
With  twain  each  seraph  covered  his  face — for 
reverence,  he  dare  not  look  upon  God.  With 
twain  he  covered  his  feet — for  humility,  he  rec- 
ognized that  he  was  unworthy.  With  twain  he 
did  fly — for  service  and  obedience  to  the  Divine 
commands. 

It  may  be  that  we  are  taught  that  a  third  part 
only  of  our  time  and  energy  should  be  expended 
in  activity ;  two-thirds  to  reverent  fellowship  and 
communion.  Probably  with  most  of  us  the 
proportion  is  in  the  other  direction  ;  and  we  give 
two-thirds  to  flight  for  God,  and  one-third  only 
for  fellowship  with  God. 

The  service  that  springs  from  such  communion 
is  directed  by  deep  sympathy  with  the  mind  of 
God.  The  seraph  did  not  wait  for  the  Lord  to 
send  him  to  Isaiah  with  a  live  coal  from  the 
altar ;  but  spontaneously  the  son  of  flame  sped  to 
do  the  required  office,  as  though  instinctively  he 
realized  that  there  was  nothing  else  to  be  done 
for  a  man  who  had  confessed  himself  to  be  vile. 
The  seraphim  have  heard  that  confession  made  so 
often,  and  have  so  often  administered  the  same 
restorative  to  fainting  hearts,  that  they  do  not 
need  to  be  directed  what  to  do.  They  know 
God's  thought  before  He  speaks  a  word.  A 
notable  emblem  this  of  service  ! 

*'  One  cried  to  another."  Holy  beings  love  to 
stir  each  other  to  higher  themes,  to  worthier 
praise.  Thus  one  bird  may  awake  a  woodland 
into  minstrelsy;  and  one  Luther  an  age.  Is 
your  heart  full  of  burning  love? — then  seek  to 
set  others  aglow. 

6 


Take  heed,  and  be  quiet ;  fear  not,  neither  let 
thine  heart  be  faint.  Isa.  vU.  ^  (r.v.). 

SERIOUS  trouble  seemed  imminent.  Two 
strong  peoples  were  bearing  down  on  Jerusalem, 
and  the  heart  of  the  house  of  David  was  moved 
as  the  trees  of  the  forest  are  moved  with  the  wind. 
Fear  like  this  demoralizes  men  and  nations. 
It  unfits  them  for  wise  and  strong  action.  Hence 
the  necessity  that  Isaiah  should  reassure  Ahaz 
with  these  words. 

They  were  not  sent  to  him  because  of  his 
righteousness  or  virtue,  for  he  was  one  of  the 
weakest  and  most  idolatrous  of  the  kings  of 
David's  line ;  but  because  his  foes  were  acting  in 
direct  collision  with  the  determined  counsel  and 
purpose  of  God.  Such  a  coalition  may  be 
threatening  you  to-day;  but  it  is  in  vain  for  the 
breakers  of  human  pride  and  hate  to  attempt  to 
intrude  within  limits  which  God  has  set  around 
His  chosen.  Come,  my  soul,  enter  thou  into 
thy  chamber,  and  shut  thy  door  about  thee  !  Be 
quiet !  God  will  fight  for  you.  Be  not  dis- 
mayed ;  God's  purpose  cannot  be  overthrown. 
Let  not  thine  heart  be  faint.  Lo,  a  virgin  has 
borne  a  Son,  whose  name  is  Immanuel — God 
with  us.  **  Fear  not:  I  bring  you  glad  tidings 
of  great  joy.     To  you  is  born  a  Saviour." 

God  Incarnate  is  the  end  of  fear;  and  the 
heart  that  realizes  that  He  is  in  the  midst, 
that  takes  heed  to  the  assurance  of  His  loving 
presence,  will  be  quiet  in  the  midst  of  alarm. 
No  weapon  that  is  formed  against  thee  shall 
prosper,  and  every  tongue  that  shall  rise  in 
judgment  against  thee  thou  shalt  condemn. 
Only  be  patient  and  be  quiet. 

"  For  while  the  tired  waves,  vainly  breaking, 
Seem  here  no  painful  inch  to  gain, 
Far  back,  through  creeks  and  inlets  making, 
Comes  silent,  flooding  in,  the  main." 

7 


The  Lord  of  Hosts  y  let  Him  be  your  fear  ^  and 
let  Him  be  your  bread.  Isa.  viii.  12, 13. 

THE  land  was  panic-stricken  for  fear  of  the 
coalition  of  Samaria  and  Damascus.  The  poli- 
ticians were  seeking  the  alliance  of  Assyria, 
whilst  the  superstitious  had  recourse  to  familiar 
spirits  and  wizards.  Amid  the  panic  the  voice 
of  Isaiah  is  heard  bidding  the  people  fear  with 
only  one  kind  of  fear.  Not  their  fear,  but  the 
fear  of  God;  not  their  dread,  but  His.  The 
apostle  Peter  quotes  these  words,  when  he  says, 
"If  ye  should  suffer  for  righteousness'  sake, 
blessed  are  ye;  and  fear  not  their  fear,  neither 
be  troubled ;  but  sanctify  in  your  hearts  Christ 
as  Lord"  (i  Pet.  iii.  15,  r.  v.). 

On  the  prairies  men  often  fight  fire  with  fire. 
Against  the  career  of  the  wall  of  flame  there  is 
but  one  resource ;  before  it  reaches  the  terrified 
fugitives  they  must  light  a  fire  to  sweep  the 
ground  bare,  that  when  the  advancing  horror 
reaches  the  spot  there  will  be  no  fuel  left  for  it 
to  feed  on.  So  with  the  heart  of  man,  the  only 
true  preservation  from  fear  of  our  fellows  is  an 
overmastering  fear  of  our  God.  Sanctify  Him  in 
your  hearts.     Let  Him  be  your  fear  and  dread. 

It  is  remarkable  that  Jacob  sware  by  the  Fear 
of  his  father  Isaac.  And  this  appears  to  have 
quieted  his  heart  in  the  presence  of  Laban. 
When  the  fear  of  God  is  strong,  the  thought  of 
grieving  Him,  or  incurring  His  just  wrath  and 
indignation,  is  most  cogent  in  warning  us  from 
sin  !  This  delivers  us  from  all  other  fear.  One 
of  the  greatest  sentences  a  man  can  utter  when 
tempted  to  sin  or  threatened  with  suffering  for 
the  uprightness  of  his  life  or  the  correctness  of 
his  creed,  is  to  say  simply,  quietly,  and  strongly : 
"I  fear  God,  and  have  no  other  fear."  Fear 
Him  :  so  shall  ye  be  established  ;  so  shall  ye  pros- 
per. 

8 


Of  the  increase  of  His  government  and  peace 
there  shall  be  no  end.  Isa.  ix.  7. 

IS  the  government  of  your  life  upon  His 
shoulder?  In  olden  times  the  badge  of  office 
was  worn  there,  and  in  some  cases  a  key  (xxii. 
22).  It  was  on  His  shoulder  that  Aaron  bore 
the  names  of  the  tribes.  The  shoulder  is  the 
symbol  of  strength.  It  is  well  when  the  govern- 
ment of  our  lives  rests  on  the  strong  Son  of  God. 
It  is  a  blessed  day  in  our  experience  that  wit- 
nesses the  transference  of  the  rule  of  life  to  the 
Wonderful,  the  Counsellor,  the  Mighty  God; 
because  all  these  exalted  altitudes  of  His  nature 
well  qualify  Him  to  become  the  King  and  Guide 
of  men. 

The  moment  of  definitely  imposing  the  govern- 
ment upon  the  Lord  Jesus  is  generally  a  marked 
one  in  our  lives.  It  stands  out  as  the  first  of  a 
long  series.  It  is  the  staple  for  a  chain  of  suc- 
cessive links,  because  we  are  always  increasing 
that  government  in  proportion  as  we  become 
more  familiar  with  our  nature  and  opportunities, 
and  as  new  departments  of  our  life  open  up  be- 
fore us.  You  were  consecrated  before  marriage, 
but  after  you  have  a  home  of  your  own  there  is  a 
widening  of  the  sphere  of  Christ's  government. 

But  just  in  proportion  to  the  increase  of  His 
government  will  be  the  increase  of  your  peace. 
As  the  one  extends,  so  does  the  other.  And  he 
who  has  extended  the  dominion  of  Jesus  to  the 
furthest  limits  of  his  being,  will  know  most  of 
the  peace  that  passeth  understanding.  There  is 
Peace  where  there  is  Unity ;  where  the  soul  has 
but  one  object  to  engross  its  love  and  aim; 
where  it  is  able  to  count  on  the  illimitable  stores 
of  its  King. 

"  Yield  to  the  Lord,  with  simple  heart, 
All  that  thou  hast  and  all  thou  art ! 
Renounce  all  strength  but  strength  divine. 
And  Peace  shall  be  forever  thine  !  " 

9 


Shall  the  axe  boast  itself  against  him  that  heweth 
therewith  ?  Isa.  x.  /j. 

THE  Assyrian  thought  that  he  was  acting  on 
his  own  impulse,  and  in  his  pride  congratulated 
himself  on  his  exploits.  The  prophet  reminded 
him  that  it  was  not  so.  He  was  only  an  axe,  a 
saw,  a  rod,  in  the  hand  of  the  Eternal  God  whose 
supremacy  he  was  inclined  to  challenge  and  set 
at  nought. 

This  thought  underlay  the  apostle's  reply  to 
those  who  magnified  him  against  Appollos  or 
Cephas.  What  are  we,  he  cries,  but  ministers 
through  whom  ye  believed,  even  as  God  granted 
to  each  of  us?  We  are  only  instruments  of 
God's  husbandry,  implements  through  which  He 
fulfills  His  plans  (i  Cor.  iii.).  It  dates  an  era 
in  the  life,  when  we  cease  to  work  for  God,  and 
allow  God  to  work  through  us. 

Thoughts  like  these  correct  alike  pride  and 
despondency.  Fride,  because  whatever  is  the 
result  of  our  work,  we  can  no  more  take  the 
credit  of  it  than  the  pen  that  wrote  the  "Para- 
dise Lost"  could  take  to  itself  the  credit  of  its 
production.  At  the  best,  it  is  not  you,  but  the 
grace  of  God  that  was  with  you.  You  are  only 
a  pipe  in  the  organ,  but  the  breath  that  educed 
your  music  was  divine.  And  in  despondency  it 
is  very  helpful  to  remember  that  if  we  are  noth- 
ing, God  is  all-sufficient;  if  we  have  failed,  it  is 
the  more  needful  for  Him  to  exert  more  power. 
Throw  back  the  responsibility  of  all  results  on 
God.  Only  see  to  it  that  you  are  a  polished 
shaft,  an  unblunted  saw,  and  leave  Him  to  do 
through  you  what  He  will. 

"  So,  take  and  use  thy  work ! 

Amend  what  flaws  may  lurk, 
"What  strain  o'  the  stufif,  what  warpings  past  the  aim ! 

My  times  are  in  thy  hand ! 

Perfect  the  cup  as  plann'd  ! 
Let  age  approve  of  youth,  and  death  complete  the  same ! " 
10 


And  he  shall  be  of  quick  scent  in  the  fear  of  the 
Lord.  Isa.  xi.  J  (R.  v.,  marg-,). 

QUICK  of  scent !  This  is  the  prerogative  of 
all  who  have  received  the  fullness  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  We  all  know  the  great  advantage  of  hav- 
ing a  keen  scent.  Those  who  can  instantly  de- 
tect an  ill-odor  are  saved  from  going  into  places 
where  pestilence  and  fever  lurk  in  ambush  for 
life.  The  whiff  of  ill-odor  startles  the  unwary 
passer-by,  and  warns  him  that  influences  inimical 
to  health  are  brooding  nigh.  Thus  he  is  arrested 
and  saved. 

It  is  a  blessed  thing  when  a  man's  spiritual 
senses  are  exercised  to  discriminate  between  the 
good  and  bad,  the  healthy  and  unhealthy,  in 
literature,  amusements,  fellowship,  and  many  of 
the  questionable  or  doubtful  things  which  pro- 
fessing Christians  permit.  There  are  many  of 
these  which  appear  innocent  enough,  like  some 
deadly  spot  of  a  jungle  where  miasma  and  fever 
breed;  but  the  deadly  scent  of  corruption  will 
instantly  be  detected  by  the  Spirit-taught  spirit, 
and  the  child  of  God,  whose  senses  are  exercised 
to  distinguish  between  good  and  evil. 

The  sense  of  smell  is  greatly  quickened  by 
inhaling  pure  air,  full  of  ozone  and  health,  such 
as  breathes  about  the  mountain-brow  or  the  ocean 
wave.  If  we  return  from  such  scenes,  we  are 
more  sensitive  than  ever  to  foul  odors.  Live 
with  God's  Spirit  in  holy  fellowship,  so  will  you 
become  spiritually  quick  of  scent. 

The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  tells  us  that  our 
senses  become  quick  to  distinguish  between  good 
and  evil  by  reason  of  use  (Heb.  v.  14).  In  the 
first  stages  of  Christian  living,  temptation  may 
have  stolen  in  upon  and  mastered  us  before  we 
were  aware  of  its  presence.  But,  as  years  pass, 
and  we  become  mature  through  feeding  on  the 
meat  of  the  Gospel  we  become  "  quick," 
11 


JVuh  joy  shall  ye  draw  water  out  of  the  ivelh  of 
salvation.  ha.  xii.  3. 

SALVATION  in  wells.  It  is  a  fascinating 
picture.  We  remeniber  Elim,  for  instance,  where 
were  twelve  springs  of  water.  In  Jesus  there  are 
wells  of  salvation  and  blessedness.  Do  you  want 
Sympathy  ?  Draw  it  from  His  tears.  Courage  ? 
It  resides  in  our  Coeur-de-Lion,  the  Lion  of  the 
tribe  of  Judah.  Purity?  It  is  His  lifeblood. 
Peace?  He  is  the  Prince  of  Peace,  the  Son  of 
Peace.  Meekness?  He  is  meek  and  lowly  in 
heart.  Mercifulness?  In  Him  you  will  obtain 
it.  Prayerfulness  ?  It  is  His  prime  character- 
istic. There  is  no  quality  or  grace  of  the  soul 
which  has  not  its  well  of  supply  in  the  Divine 
Manhood  of  our  Lord. 

But  we  must  draw.  Thou  hast  something  to 
draw  with,  though  not  to  the  eye  of  man.  Faith 
is  the  bucket,  which  we  let  down  into  the  fullness 
of  the  Divine  supply.  Not  simply  the  general 
belief  that  God  does  answer  prayer,  but  the 
specific  and  particular  belief  that  God  has  an- 
swered the  prayer  for  some  special  needed  grace ; 
and  that  it  is  yours.  Believe  that  ye  have  re- 
ceived. Do  not  look  into  the  dripping  bucket  of 
your  faith  to  see  if  you  have  received ;  dare  to 
believe  that  you  have  received  whether  you  get  it 
or  not ;  and  go  forth  to  use  what  you  have,  sure 
that  in  answer  to  your  appeal  you  have  all  suf- 
ficiency in  all  things,  that  you  may  abound  to 
every  good  work. 

What  joy  !  There  is  always  joy  in  some  new 
discovery  and  acquisition.  And  oh,  the  joy  of 
realizing  that  all  the  wealth  of  God's  salvation  is 
within  our  reach ;  that  we  may  draw  forever 
without  fear  of  exhaustion  ;  that  the  Spirit  and 
Bride  invite  us  to  end  forevermore  our  thirst,  our 
disquiet,  our  weary  quest ! 
12 


And  Babylon  shall  be  as  when  God  overthrew 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah.  Isa.  xiU.  ig. 

THESE  prophecies  have  been  fulfilled  with 
marvellous  accuracy.  It  is  a  pity  that  so  few  of 
our  young  people  in  these  days  study  the  evi- 
dence of  prophecy.  '*  Keith's  Evidences" 
would  be  a  wholesome  introduction  to  this  mar- 
vellous field  of  investigation ;  but  every  year  is 
adding  to  the  store  of  proof.  Unlike  the  evi- 
dence of  miracles,  that  of  prophecy  increases 
with  every  year  of  increasing  distance  from  the 
hour  that  the  prediction  was  given. 

There  is  a  God  that  judgeth  in  the  earth. 
Nations,  as  well  as  individuals,  must  stand  before 
His  judgment  bar.  Indeed,  the  judgment  of  the 
nations  is  now  in  progress.  Already  before  the 
Son  of  Man  all  nations  are  being  gathered,  and 
He  is  dividing  the  sheep  from  among  the  goats. 
Men  do  not  see  the  sentence  of  the  Divine  Judge 
put  into  execution,  since  the  operation  of  His 
Providence  is  so  deliberate.  But  in  the  land- 
scape of  history,  as  we  view  it  from  the  eminence 
of  the  years,  we  can  detect  the  condign  vengeance 
of  the  Almighty  on  the  cruel,  rapacious,  blood- 
thirsty kingdom  of  Babylon.  She  had  served 
God's  purpose,  but  she  had  committed  such  enor- 
mous crimes  in  the  process  of  serving  it,  that 
she  must  be  condemned. 

The  wrongs  of  the  West  Indians  have,  in  this 
generation,  been  requited  upon  Spain.  It  is  not 
possible  that  modern  Turkey  should  escape. 
The  blood  of  100,000  Armenians  cries  against 
her  from  under  the  altar.  But  let  our  beloved 
country  beware  !  Her  opium  traffic,  her  con- 
nivance at  the  sale  of  fire-water  to  native  races, 
her  permission  of  gross  impurity  in  her  streets, 
her  drunkenness,  must  be  telling  very  heavily 
against  her  in  the  scale  of  Divine  justice.  "O 
Jerusalem,  Jerusalem  !  " 
13 


The  Lord  will  have  compassion  on  Jacobs  and 
will  yet  choose  Israel.  Isa.  xiv.  i. 

ISRAEL  is  the  pivot  around  which  the  history 
of  the  world  revolves.  We  cannot  understand 
the  trend  of  events  till  we  know  this.  As  it  was 
in  the  days  of  Isaiah,  so  it  is  now.  Then  the 
rise  and  fall  of  Babylon  was  conditioned  by  the 
history  of  the  people  whom  her  kings  so  greatly 
despised.  Israel  needed  punishment,  and  Babylon 
was  raised  up  to  be  the  rod  of  God's  vengeance. 
The  precious  truths  entrusted  to  Israel  needed 
dissemination  throughout  the  world,  and  the 
chosen  people  were  carried  captive  to  Babylon 
and  scattered  throughout  that  vast  empire.  When 
seventy  years  were  fulfilled,  and  the  time  was 
ripe  for  their  restoration  to  their  own  land,  Baby- 
lon fell  beneath  the  Medes  and  Persians,  and 
Cyrus  signed  the  edict  for  the  restoration  of 
Israel. 

So,  now,  it  is  hardly  a  matter  of  doubt  that 
the  existing  complications  of  Eastern  Europe  will 
never  be  settled  until  the  chosen  people  recover 
the  land  given  by  covenant-promise  to  Abraham, 
and  establish  there  a  free  and  independent  king- 
dom. 

But  the  practical  lesson  is,  that  God  bears  His 
people  on  His  heart,  and  that  He  is  ever  engaged 
in  manipulating  and  governing  human  affairs  for 
their  welfare.  He  hates  putting  away.  He 
must  keep  His  promises  made  to  us  in  Jesus.  O 
backslider,  what  comfort  for  thee  is  here  !  Israel 
had  surely  done  her  worst  to  alienate  the  love  of 
God,  and  to  put  herself  out  of  His  loving  favor. 
But  see  how  He  had  compassion  and  chose  her 
again.  Take  heart !  He  will  restore  thee,  as  at 
the  first,  and  bless  thee,  setting  thee  again  in  the 
old  place  of  favor  and  privilege.  *' Return  unto 
Me,  and  I  will  return  unto  you,  saith  the  Lord 
of  hosts." 

14 


My  heart  crieth  out  for  Moab. 

Isa.  XV.  J  (r.  v.). 

MOAB  was  once  thickly  populated,  and  very 
fertile.  But  the  country  is  now  strewn  with 
ruins ;  a  few  broken  shafts  of  columns  alone  are 
standing,  and  deep  wells  cut  into  the  heart  of 
rock.  That  such  a  civilization  should  pass  so 
entirely  away,  leaving  no  trace  behind  it,  must 
have  seemed  most  unlikely  to  the  prophet's  con- 
temporaries ;  but  these  words  have  been  literally 
fulfilled.  So  shall  others  of  prophecy  be  ful- 
filled; and,  indeed,  each  morning's  dawn  wit- 
nesses some  further  approach  to  their  accomplish- 
ment. 

It  is  to  be  noticed  that  the  man  of  God  takes 
no  pleasure  in  these  desolations,  though  Israel 
and  Moab  had  been  perpetually  at  feud.  He 
speaks  of  the  burden  of  Moab.  Is  not  this  the 
manner  in  which  we  should  consider  and  pro- 
claim the  doom  of  the  ungodly?  Oh  to  preach 
of  eternal  judgment  with  wet  eyes  !  Oh  to  tell 
men,  even  weeping,  that  they  are  the  enemies  of 
the  cross  of  Christ !  Oh  to  know  the  burdened 
heart,  burdened  even  to  breaking  ! 

This  is  the  only  preaching  which  touches  the 
heart  of  the  unsaved.  To  announce  their  doom 
with  metallic  voice  and  unperturbed  manner  will 
only  harden ;  but  to  speak  with  streaming  eyes, 
and  the  eloquence  of  a  broken  heart,  will  touch 
the  most  callous.  It  is  the  broken  heart  that 
breaks  hearts.  Tears  start  tears.  May  our  mer- 
ciful High  Priest  impart  to  us  His  compassion 
and  mercies,  and  lay  on  our  hearts  some  of  His 
burdens  for  dying  men  ;  that  as  we  behold  the 
cities  we  may  weep,  and  that  there  may  be  a 
trembling  in  our  voices  as  we  proclaim  the 
fearful  woe  that  awaits  the  godless  and  impeni- 
tent. 

15 


And  a  throne  shall  be  established  in  mercy. 

Isa.  xvi.s  (R.  v.). 

IN  those  days  thrones  were  not  generally  estab- 
lished in  mercy;  but  in  blood,  and  cruelty,  and 
savage  might.  Addressing  Moab,  the  prophet 
advises  that  in  the  hour  of  her  anguish,  when  her 
fugitives  gather  at  the  fords  of  the  Arnon,  in  their 
mad  flight  from  before  the  conqueror,  they 
should  make  peace  with  their  ancient  enemies  the 
Jews,  and  appease  their  hatred,  that  the  outcasts 
may  find  shelter  in  the  Land  of  Promise.  And 
he  goes  on  to  say,  that  when  this  should  come  to 
pass,  their  piteous  appeal  for  protection  will  be 
generously  met,  because  the  throne  shall  at  that 
time  be  established  in  mercy.  The  ancient  causes 
of  enmity  will  be  forgotten ;  the  old  feuds  will 
be  condoned ;  and  the  protection  of  Israel  will 
be  to  the  trembling  crowds  of  refugees  like  the 
shadow  of  a  high  rock  flung  across  the  sand, 
when  all  the  land  is  baking  in  the  noontide 
glare. 

Who  can  this  be  that  sits  on  the  throne  of 
David,  combining  mercy  with  truth,  seeking 
righteousness  in  His  judgment,  and  swift  to  act 
on  the  behalf  of  the  oppressed?  None  other 
than  the  Prince  of  the  House  of  David,  of  whose 
kingdom  there  can  be  no  end.  Art  thou  a  fugi- 
tive, driven  from  thy  nest,  and  rushing  to  and 
fro  as  a  scared  and  trembling  bird  (2)?  Is  the 
glare  of  the  sun  scorching  thee?  Dost  thou 
stand  at  the  fords  of  Arnon,  with  enemies  behind, 
and  death  in  front  ?  Send  ye  lambs  to  the  Mount 
of  Zion ;  make  peace  with  her  King ;  invoke 
His  forgiveness  and  salvation.  Remember  that 
though  He  is  a  great  King,  His  throne  is  estab- 
lished in  mercy.  And  His  shadow  shall  be  as 
the  night  in  the  midst  of  the  noonday ;  He  will 
hide  the  outcast,  and  will  not  betray  the  wan- 
derer (3.) 

16 


The  harvest  fleeth  away  in  the  day  of  grief  and 
of  desperate  sorrow.  Isa.  xvii.  lo,  ii  (r.  v.). 

HOW  many  among  us  might  be  addressed  in 
these  solemn  words  !  Many  are  planting  pleas- 
ant plants,  which  they  hope  will  one  day  be 
beautiful  in  appearance;  whilst  from  the  slips 
they  hope  to  rear  fruit  trees.  One  man  is  plant- 
ing his  schemes  for  making  a  fortune ;  another 
is  setting  slips  that  should  bring  him  success 
and  renown;  yet  another  is  busy  in  creating  a 
political  or  religious  movement  that  is  intended 
to  benefit  mankind.  The  workers  in  the  village 
allotment  gardens  in  the  early  spring  are  an  apt 
illustration  of  what  politicians,  company-mon- 
gers, and  society-leaders,  are  attempting  in  other 
spheres. 

But  of  what  avail  are  all  our  preparations,  so 
long  as  we  forget  the  God  of  our  salvation  and 
are  unmindful  of  the  Rock  of  our  strength  ?  We 
shall  never  garner  the  harvest  without  His  help 
and  blessing.  The  day  of  grief  and  desperate 
sorrow  will  inevitably  visit  us,  and  sweep  away 
all  the  results  of  our  toils.  The  cooperation  and 
blessing  of  God,  sought  in  answer  to  prayer,  can- 
not be  left  out  of  our  calculations,  if  we  are  to 
win  lasting  success. 

And  is  not  the  reverse  also  true  ?  Supposing 
that  we  remember  the  God  of  our  salvation,  and 
are  ever  mindful  of  the  Rock  of  our  strength  : 
may  we  not  infer  that  our  pleasant  plants  will 
root  themselves,  and  our  slips  bear  fruit  in 
the  coming  years  to  the  glory  and  praise  of 
God,  and  for  the  blessing  of  thirsty  wayfarers? 
"These  simple  teachings  of  farm  and  field 
knock  continually  at  the  doors  of  our  own  bless- 
edness, with  intent  that  we  may  enter  therein, 
and  find  our  home  in  the  will  of  God,  and  our 
permanent  lodging  under  the  shadow  of  the  Al- 
mighty." 

17 


/  will  be  stilly  and  I  will  behold  i?i  my  dwelling- 
place.  Isa.  xviii.  4  (R.  v.). 

ASSYRIA  was  marching  against  Ethiopia,  the 
people  of  which  are  described  as  tall  and  smooth. 
And  as  the  armies  advance,  God  makes  no  effort 
to  arrest  them;  it  would  seem  as  though  they 
will  be  allowed  to  work  their  will.  He  is  still 
watching  them  from  His  dwelling-place ;  the  sun 
still  shines  on  them;  the  dews  refresh  them. 
But  before  the  harvest,  when  the  flowers  are  be- 
coming ripening  grapes,  the  whole  of  the  proud 
array  of  Assyria  is  smitten  as  easily  as  when 
sprigs  are  cut  off  by  the  pruning-hook  of  the  hus- 
bandman. 

Is  not  this  a  marvellous  conception  of  God — 
being  still  and  watching?  His  stillness  is  not 
acquiescence.  His  silence  is  not  consent.  He 
is  only  biding  His  time,  and  will  arise,  in  the 
most  opportune  moment,  and  when  the  designs 
of  the  wicked  seem  on  the  point  of  success,  to 
overwhelm  them  with  disaster.  As  we  look  out 
on  the  evil  of  the  world ;  as  we  think  of  the  ap- 
parent success  of  wrongdoing;  as  we  wince  be- 
neath the  oppression  of  those  that  hate  us,  let  us 
remember  these  marvellous  words  about  God  being 
still  and  beholding. 

There  is,  however,  another  side  to  this.  Jesus 
beheld  His  disciples  toiling  at  the  oars  through 
the  stormy  night;  and  watched,  though  unseen, 
the  successive  steps  of  the  anguish  at  Bethany, 
where  Lazarus  slowly  passed  through  the  stages 
of  mortal  sickness,  till  he  succumbed  and  was 
borne  to  the  rocky  tomb.  But  He  was  only 
waiting  the  moment  when  He  could  interpose 
most  effectually.  Is  He  still  to  thee?  He  is  not 
unobservant :  He  is  beholding  all  things :  He 
has  His  finger  on  thy  pulse,  keenly  sensitive  to 
all  its  fluctuations.  He  will  come  to  save  thee 
when  the  precise  moment  has  arrived. 
18 


Egypt  my  people^  Assyria  the  work  of  my  hafids, 
Israel  mine  inheritance.  Isa.  xix.  24^  2j. 

It  is  very  wonderful  to  find  such  expressions  in 
the  mouth  of  a  Jew.  It  shows  what  an  effect 
that  coal  of  fire  had  produced  on  the  lips  of 
Isaiah.  It  had  led  him  to  know  something  of  the 
love  of  God  which  overleaps  the  barriers  of  na- 
tionality and  caste,  and  gives  itself  to  all  who 
humbly  seek  after  Him. 

We  have  here  the  foreshadowing  of  an  age, 
yet  to  be  revealed,  when  the  long  discipline  of 
God's  dealings  with  men  shall  be  consummated 
in  their  conversion  to  God.  What  a  radiant 
prospect  is  thus  suggested  to  us,  when  the  most 
inveterate  enemies  of  God's  Church  shall  be  re- 
ceived into  her  borders  and  regarded  with  the 
favor  that  God  shows  to  His  people !  Who, 
standing  amid  the  terrors  of  the  plagues,  could 
ever  have  supposed  that  Egypt  would  be  addressed 
as  "my  people"?  Who  could  have  thought 
that  Assyria,  the  tyrant  persecutor,  would  ever  be 
called  *Mhe  work  of  my  hands"?  Yet  these 
are  the  trophies  and  triumphs  of  Divine  grace. 
Our  Shepherd  has  many  sheep,  which  are  not  of 
the  Jewish  fold  :  these  also  He  must  bring ;  and 
there  shall  be  one  flock,  one  Shepherd.  Never 
despair  of  any,  for  God's  grace  abounds  over 
mountains. 

But  Israel  is  always  His  inheritance.  There 
He  finds  rest  and  home,  for  the  Lord's  portion  is 
His  people.  Oh  to  know  the  riches  of  the  glory 
of  His  inheritance  in  the  saints  !  The  soil  of 
our  life  is  poor  and  thin,  the  aspect  bad,  the 
stones  many  ;  but  He  who  chose  us  will  yet  vin- 
dicate Himself,  and  if  He  has  to  empty  heaven 
of  its  wealth  He  will  do  it  rather  than  fail  of  His 
eternal  purpose.  Naaman  asked  for  two  mules' 
burdens  of  earth ;  but  Christ  can  spare  more 
than  that,  and  will,  to  make  the  soil  of  a  godly 
character. 

19 


And  we,  how  shall  we  escape  ? 

Isa.  XX.  6  (r.  v.). 

THE  argument  is  as  follows — Assyria,  accord- 
ing to  Isaiah's  prophecies,  would  sweep  down  on 
Ethiopia,  and  take  them  into  captivity ;  and 
when  this  happened,  the  inhabitants  of  the  coast- 
line, which  we  know  as  Philistia,  would  have 
reason  to  fear  indeed.  If  Ethiopia  and  Egypt, 
to  whom  they  looked  for  aid,  could  not  withstand 
the  mighty  northern  nation,  how  hopeless  it  was 
for  dwellers  on  the  littoral  to  expect  to  withstand 
it  by  themselves  ! 

The  moral  is  obvious,  and  it  is  well  pointed 
by  the  apostle  Peter  when  he  says  :  "  The  time 
is  come  for  judgment  to  begin  at  the  house  of 
God,  and  if  it  begin  first  with  us,  what  shall  be 
the  end  of  them  that  obey  not  the  Gospel  of  God  ? 
And  if  the  righteous  is  scarcely  saved,  where 
shall  the  ungodly  and  sinner  appear?  "  Scarcely 
saved  !  It  is  as  though  our  salvation  tasked  the 
resources  of  the  Eternal  God  to  the  uttermost. 
He  had  grace  and  strength  enough,  but  none  to 
spare.  Blood  and  tears  and  heart-break  were  the 
price  with  which  our  redemption  was  secured  ! 
How  then  will  they  escape  who  venture  forth 
into  the  storm  which  soon  shall  break  upon  our 
world,  apart  from  the  only  salvation  which  can 
withstand  its  fury?  *'If  the  word  spoken  by 
angels  was  steadfast,  and  every  transgression  and 
disobedience  received  a  just  recompense  of  re- 
ward, how  shall  we  escape,  if  we  neglect  so  great 
salvation?" 

A  pious  man,  when  death  approached,  longed 
to  die  in  triumph  for  the  conversion  of  his 
sons.  Instead,  his  soul  was  overwhelmed  with 
gloom.  But  this  was  used  of  God  to  the  con- 
version of  the  whole  family,  for  they  said  :  If  so 
good  a  man  died  in  the  dark,  what  will  become 
of  us  ? 

20 


Watchman,  what  of  the  night  ? 

Isa.  xxi.  II. 

ACROSS  the  desert  spaces  a  voice  was  heard 
calling  from  the  land  of  Esau,  calling  to  the 
prophet,  to  know  whether  the  long  night  of  As- 
syrian oppression  was  nearly  over.  He  stood  on 
the  hills  of  Zion  watching  the  dawn,  as  the  priests 
were  accustomed  to  do,  that  they  might  give  the 
first  signal  for  the  offering  of  the  morning  sacri- 
fice. The  question,  **  Watchman,  what  of  the 
night?"  was  repeated  twice,  as  if  the  weary  suf- 
ferers were  at  their  last  gasp. 

The  prophet's  answer  was  enigmatical.  The 
morning  was  already  on  its  way;  but  the  night 
was  chasing  it,  spreading  her  raven  wings  in  the 
same  sky — '<  The  morning  cometh,  and  also  the 
night. ' '  Morning  for  Israel,  but  night  for  Edom ; 
but  if  Edom  would  repent,  she  might  come  again 
with  her  inquiries  to  find  that  for  her  also  God 
had  turned  the  shadow  of  death  into  the  morn- 
ing. 

Never  in  the  history  of  the  ages  have  men 
looked  more  eagerly  toward  the  Eastern  sky,  or 
inquired  more  persistently.  What  of  the  night? 
What  of  the  night?  To  those  that  watch  the 
Eastern  sky,  standing  on  the  mount  of  vision  af- 
forded by  the  Word  of  God,  there  is  but  one  an- 
swer :  The  morning  cometh,  but  also  the  night. 
The  morning  of  millennial  glory,  and  of  the 
bridal  chamber;  of  the  taking  home  of  the 
saints,  and  the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ :  but 
the  night  of  unutterable  sorrow  to  the  servant 
who  knew  the  Lord's  will  and  did  it  not,  and  to 
the  world  which  would  not  have  this  Man  to 
reign  over  it.  Yet  if  individuals  will  but  turn 
from  darkness  to  light,  and  from  Satan  to  God, 
they  will  be  welcomed,  and  receive  an  inheri- 
tance amongst  the  children  of  the  morning. 
**Come  ye  again,  come  "  (r.  v.,  ?narg.). 
21 


The  key  of  the  house  of  David  will  I  lay  upon 
His  shoulder.  Isa.  xxU.  22. 

THE  Divine  Man  stands  behind  the  earthly 
type  in  these  words  in  majestic  beauty.  **  These 
things  saith  He  that  is  holy,  He  that  is  true,  He 
that  hath  the  key  of  David,  He  that  openeth,  and 
none  shall  shut,  and  that  shutteth  and  none  open- 
eth. Behold,  I  have  set  before  thee  a  door 
opened,  which  none  can  shut."  Words  of  in- 
comparable splendor,  capable  of  endless  applica- 
tion. 

Let  Jesus  open  each  day  of  service,  each  op- 
portunity of  ministry,  each  door  into  another 
soul,  each  new  chamber  of  life,  and  knowledge, 
and  opportunity ;  and  remember  that  He  who 
sets  before  us  open  doors  is  He  who  knows  our 
works,  and  that  we  have  but  little  strength.  He 
will  never  open  a  door  leading  into  a  passage  of 
life  which  is  too  difficult  for  our  strength  to  tread. 
The  open  door  will  reveal  to  us  possibilities  within 
our  reach  of  which  we  had  not  dreamed ;  and 
when  once  a  door  is  opened,  though  access  to  it 
may  be  beset,  as  in  Bunyan's  vision,  by  armed 
men,  and  though  strong  pressure  is  brought  to 
bear  upon  it  for  its  closing,  let  us  dare  to  perse- 
vere against  disease  and  pestilence  and  opposi- 
tion, relying  on  these  sublime  words.  None  shall 
shut.  Dear  soul,  say  it  to  thyself  repeatedly, 
JVo?ie  shall  shut. 

But  the  Lord  shuts  doors.  "The  Spirit  of 
Jesus  suffered  them  not  to  go  into  Bithynia." 
Down  a  long  corridor  of  closed  doors  we  may 
sometimes  have  to  pass.  It  seems  heartbreaking 
to  see  doors  labelled.  Friendship,  Love,  Home, 
shut  against  us ;  but  beyond  them  there  is  the 
one  unclosed  door  through  which  we  shall  enter 
into  our  true  life.  Oh  do  not  lose  heart  and 
hope  in  useless  weeping  over  the  closed  doors  of 
the  past.  Follow  Him,  who  has  the  keys. 
22 


The  sea  hath  spoken. 

ha.  xxiii.  4. 

ZIDON  is  bidden  to  be  ashamed  because  she 
is  suddenly  left  childless ;  and  this  to  an  Eastern 
woman  was  shame  indeed.  And  the  prophet, 
personifying  Zidon  as  the  City  of  the  Sea,  de- 
scribes the  sea  herself  as  lamenting.  It  is  as 
though  the  sea  took  up  Zidon's  complaint  at  the 
destruction  of  her  children,  and  spoke  in  all  her 
multitudinous  waves. 

With  what  different  tones  the  sea  speaks  ! 
Sometimes  in  the  musical  breath  of  her  wavelets 
on  the  beach ;  or  the  long  drawl  of  the  shingle 
in  the  recession  of  the  retiring  billow ;  or  in  the 
rising  storm,  when  the  waters  lift  up  their  voice; 
or  in  the  angry  roar  of  the  mighty  waves  far  out 
at  sea.  Speaking  in  whispers  and  in  thunder ; 
speaking  to  itself  and  to  God  under  the  canopy 
of  night !  The  sea- voices  are  not  the  least 
amongst  those  of  nature.  Old  Ocean  seems  to 
us  sometimes  like  a  great  organ  on  which  every 
note  of  the  heart  is  represented. 

And  what  are  the  wild  waves  saying  ?  Listen  ! 
''We  are  His,  for  He  made  us;  we  own  His 
sway,  for  He  once  trod  our  crests ;  His  voice  is 
as  the  voice  of  many  waters ;  His  thoughts  are 
deep  as  our  profoundest  depths;  His  throne 
stands  beside  the  sea  of  glass  mingled  with  fire ; 
His  least  word  is  omnipotent  over  our  wildest 
fury." 

But  the  sea  shall  one  day  speak  for  the  last 
time.  The  lonely  soul  of  the  beloved  apostle, 
which  had  so  often  listened  to  the  chime  of  the 
^gean  waves  around  his  island  prison,  rejoiced 
to  know  that  the  sea  should  one  day  be  no  more. 
No  more  the  speech  of  the  storm  ;  no  more  the 
mournful  cadence  of  the  retiring  w^avelet  at  night 
telling  of  separation  and  loneliness.  "The  first 
heaven  and  the  first  earth  are  passed  away,  and 
the  sea  is  no  more." 

23 


From  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth  have  we 
heard  songs.  Isa.  xxiv.  i6. 

THIS  chapter  exceeds  in  sublimity.  The 
prophet  first  describes  the  general  desolation 
about  to  overtake  the  world  of  his  time,  when, 
through  the  ruthless  invasions  of  Nebuchadnezzar, 
it  would  become  utterly  emptied  and  spoiled. 
He  describes  the  earth  as  languishing  and  fading 
away,  and  the  high  ones  of  the  people  languish- 
ing (ver.  4).  Polluted  nature  is  depicted  as 
groaning  in  bitter  anguish  beneath  the  enormous 
sins  of  men,  who  had  transgressed  the  law, 
changed  the  ordinance,  and  broken  the  everlast- 
ing covenant  of  their  God.  All  joy  is  darkened  ; 
the  mirth  of  the  land  is  gone. 

The  scene  is  changed,  and  our  thought  is 
turned  from  the  judgment  and  punishment  of  the 
wicked,  to  the  blessed  lot  of  the  people  of  God ; 
we  are  taught  to  see  the  Lord  of  Hosts  reigning 
on  Mount  Zion  and  in  Jerusalem,  and  before  His 
ancients  gloriously.  And  all  who  see  it  are  com- 
pelled to  confess  that  it  is  well  with  His  people 
who  are  under  such  a  King.  And  as  that 
spectacle  is  beheld  by  the  sons  of  men,  as  they 
compare  their  misery  with  the  light  and  joy  of 
the  people  of  God,  they  lift  up  their  voices  and 
sing.  They  shall  lift  up  their  voice,  they  shall 
shout ;  for  the  majesty  of  the  Lord,  they  shall  cry 
aloud  from  the  sea.  Where  morning  lights  her 
fires  they  shall  glorify  Him ;  and  from  the  utter- 
most parts  of  the  earth  songs  roll  home  in  a 
tumult  of  ecstasy,  '*  Glory,  glory  to  the  right- 
eous." 

It  is  a  true  sentence.  Though  for  our  discipline, 
and  to  fit  us  to  minister  to  men,  we  arc  often 
passed  through  the  fiery  furnace,  yet  on  the  whole 
it  is  well  with  us.  Ours  is  the  peace  of  God ; 
ours  the  knowledge  that  love  is  over  all ;  ours  the 
anticipation  of  a  morning  that  shall  never  be 
overcast. 

24 


He  will  siv allow  up  death  in  victory. 

Isa.  XXV.  8. 

IN  this  ode,  which  Isaiah  prepared  for  singing 
when  Babylon  the  first  should  have  fallen,  the 
apostle,  taught  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  saw  an  an- 
ticipation of  the  triumph  of  the  saints,  when  the 
strong  bastions  of  death  should  be  destroyed  be- 
fore the  coming  of  Him  who  is  the  resurrection 
and  the  life.  "  This  corruptible  must  put  on  in- 
corruption,  and  this  mortal  must  put  on  im- 
mortality." In  these  words  he  refers  to  tlie  first 
stage  in  the  Second  Advent,  when  the  living 
saints  shall  be  changed,  and  those  who  have  died 
shall  be  raised ;  and  then  he  proceeds  to  quote 
these  words,  "When  this  corruptible  shall  have 
put  on  incorruption,  and  this  mortal  shall  have 
put  on  immortality,  then  shall  come  to  pass  the 
saying  that  is  written,  Death  is  swallowed  up  in 
victory." 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  is  Paul's  prayer 
for  himself.  He  says,  *'  We  would  be  clothed 
upon,  that  what  is  mortal  may  be  swallowed  up 
of  life."  No  doubt  it  would  be  very  delightful ! 
None  of  the  pains  of  dissolution  ;  no  going  forth 
of  the  unclothed  spirit ;  but  the  sudden  sublim- 
ing and  transfiguring  of  the  mortal,  as  ice  passes 
into  water,  or  water  into  vapor.  It  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at  that  the  prophet  adds,  '  *  The  Lord 
God  will  wipe  away  tears  from  off  all  faces."  In 
the  rapture  of  reunion,  in  the  glad  embrace  of 
eternity,  in  the  consciousness  that  death  and 
trouble  are  forever  behind,  and  that  God  has 
kept  His  word,  we  shall  forget  how  to  weep  ! 

The  propliet  also  records  the  triumphant  song 
which  will  break  from  myriads  of  glad  spirits, 
when  the  hope  of  the  Church  will  be  realized, 
and  her  long  patience  rewarded  :  '*  It  shall  be 
said  in  that  day,  Lo,  this  is  our  God :  we  have 
waited  for  Him,  we  will  be  glad  and  rejoice  in 
His  salvation." 

25 


Thou  wilt  keep  him  in  perfect  peace  ^  whose  mind 
is  stayed  on  Thee.  ha.  xxvi.  j. 

THE  Hebrew  is  very  significant.  *'  Perfect 
peace"  is  Peace,  peace.  As  though  the  soul 
dwelt  within  double  doors,  like  some  chambers 
which  we  have  entered,  which  had  double  win- 
dows against  the  noise  of  the  street,  and  a  baize 
door  within  the  ordinary  one  to  deaden  the  sound 
of  voices  from  the  next  apartment.  Understand, 
dear  soul,  that  it  is  thy  privilege  to  live  inside  the 
double  doors  of  God's  loving  care.  He  says  to 
thee,  "Peace,  peace."  If  one  assurance  is  not 
enough,  He  will  follow  it  with  a  second  and  a 
third.  The  city  is  strong,  the  bulwarks  and 
walls  are  massive,  salvation  is  appointed  and  pre- 
pared ;  but  the  gates  do  not  frown  with  iron  or 
move  heavily  on  hinges  of  stone,  they  open 
musically  and  gently. 

We  remember  how,  on  the  evening  of  His  resur- 
rection, our  Lord  spoke  the  double  peace.  Peace, 
because  of  His  wounds,  the  peace  of  the  justified  ; 
and  peace,  because  He  was  sending  His  apostles 
forth,  as  the  Father  had  sent  Him.  The  one  is 
the  peace  of  the  evening,  when  we  come  back  to 
our  home,  wounded  and  soiled  :  the  other  of  the 
morning,  when  we  dwell  in  the  will  of  Him  who 
chose  our  lot  and  path.  His  blood  and  His  will 
— these  are  the  double  doors  of  our  peace. 

We  must  see  to  it  that  our  mind  is  stayed  on 
God.  For  nmid  the  margin  suggests  imagina- 
tion. It  is  through  our  imaginings  that  we  get 
perturbed  and  defiled.  We  anticipate  and  fancy 
so  many  ogres ;  we  harbor  such  dark  forebod- 
ings ;  chambers  of  imagery  are  thrown  open  to 
such  unseemly  company ;  hence  our  perturba- 
tion. Do  not  imagine,  but  trust;  do  not  an- 
ticipate, but  leave  God  to  choose.  "Looking 
forward  strains  the  eyesight;  looking  upward 
opens  heaven." 

26 


Let  him  take  hold  of  My  strength. 

Isa.  xxvii.  j". 

SUCH  are  the  alternatives.  You  must  either 
resist  God's  strength,  or  take  hold  of  it.  If  the 
former,  it  is  as  though  thorns  and  briars  should 
fight  flame.  There  is  no  fury  in  God;  He  has 
no  desire  for  the  death  of  the  ungodly,  but  that 
he  should  turn  from  his  unrighteousness  and  live. 
Yet  if  the  blinded  soul  persists  in  flinging  itself 
into  collision  with  Him,  it  must  suffer  finally  and 
irretrievably.  But  notice  the  double  invitation, 
<*Let  him  take  hold  of  My  strength;  let  him 
make  peace." 

Where  shall  I  find  His  strength?  the  sinner 
asks.  In  the  mighty  mountains  girded  with 
strength  ;  in  the  arch  of  the  sky;  in  the  break  of 
the  ocean  wave  ?  No,  not  in  these ;  but  where 
that  dying  ]^>Ian  pours  out  His  soul  unto  death, 
and  is  numbered  with  the  transgressors.  But 
surely  thei-e  is  the  weakness  of  God,  not  the 
strength  !  Nay,  but  it  is  the  strength.  The 
weakness  of  God  is  stronger  than  men.  '*  We 
preach  Christ  crucified  :  to  the  Jews  a  stumbling- 
block,  and  to  Greeks  foolishness;  but  unto  them 
which  are  called,  Christ  the  power  of  God." 

Come  hither,  soul  of  man,  the  strength  of  God 
is  in  that  pierced,  transfixed  hand.  Take  hold  of 
it,  it  will  lift  thee.  In  Him  God  is  reconciled  ; 
there  is  nothing  to  do  but  lake  the  offered  mercy, 
accept  His  reconciliation,  and  be  at  peace.  God 
is  reconciled;  be  thou  reconciled.  God  has 
made  peace ;  be  thou  at  peace.  God  reaches  out 
His  hand  ;  take  hold  of  it.  God  draws  nigh  ;  draw 
nigh  to  Him.  Then  He  will  keep  thee,  whatever 
be  thy  foes  or  temptations ;  His  protecting  strength 
will  interpose  between  them  and  thee.  He  will 
keep  thee  night  and  day  (ver.  3). 

"  Peace,  perfect  peace,  in  this  dark  world  of  sin  ? 
The  blood  of  Jesus  whispers  peace  within." 

27 


A  crown  of  glory  ^  and  a  diadem  of  beauty, 

Isa.  xxviii.  5. 

WHAT  many,  like  the  drunkards  of  Ephraim, 
as  described  here,  seek  in  the  exhilarating  stimu- 
lus of  wine,  God's  people  seek  and  find  in  Him- 
self! Notice  the  variety  of  His  attributes.  There 
is  something  for  every  one.  Are  you  eager  for 
glory  ?  There  is  no  reputation  or  fame  equal  to 
having  His  smile,  the  consciousness  of  being 
well  pleasing  to  Him — "  He  will  be  a  crown  of 
glory."  Do  you  recognize  the  deformity  and 
unloveliness  of  your  character,  and  desire  beauty? 
"  He  will  be  a  diadem  of  beauty."  Do  you  de- 
sire a  right  judgment  in  all  things,  so  as  to  be 
able  to  direct  large  and  important  undertakings? 
**He  will  be  a  spirit  of  judgment,"  when  you 
will  be  in  judgment.  Submit  your  judgment  to 
Him,  that  He  may  think  through  your  mind,  or 
direct  you  to  a  just  conclusion.  Are  there  days 
when  the  enemy  threatens  to  carry  your  soul  by 
assault,  and  is  already  at  the  gates?  Then  turn 
to  Jesus,  and  He  will  be  your  strength.  Yes,  and 
in  great  crises,  when  evil  is  predominant,  and  the 
citadel  of  faith  and  righteousness  threatens  to  be 
submerged  before  the  weltering  chaos,  when  no 
other  help  is  near,  as  you  look  to  the  Captain  of 
the  Lord's  Host,  you  will  suddenly  find  yourself 
enabled  to  roll  back  the  dark  battalions,  in  the 
very  hour  of  victory. 

Let  us  live  in  closer  fellowship  with  our  glo- 
rious Lord.  They  who  receive  the  abundance  of 
His  grace  shall  reign.  Out  of  His  fullness  may 
all  receive,  and  grace  for  grace.  "  In  that  day  " 
on  Christ's  lips  always  meant  the  day  of  Pente- 
cost; and  it  is  only  through  the  grace  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  that  we  can  avail  ourselves  of  the 
treasured  resources  of  the  Ascended  Christ. 

He  shall  suffice  me,  for  He  hath  sufficed," 
28 


The   meek  also   shall  increase  their  joy  in  the 
Lord.  Jsa.  xxix.  jg. 

''  BLESSED  are  the  meek,"  *'  Blessed  are  the 
poor  in  spirit,"  said  the  Lord.  What  is  meek- 
ness, and  why  are  weak  and  poor  men  so  signally- 
blessed  with  joy?  Meekness  is  different  from 
lowliness  and  humility.  It  is  our  attitude  in  the 
presence  of  our  detractors  and  persecutors — not 
retaliating,  nor  opposing  force  to  force,  but  bow- 
ing in  silence  and  submission  before  high-handed 
wrong.  It  was  in  such  a  spirit  of  meekness  that 
Jesus  suffered  Himself  to  be  led  as  a  lamb  to  the 
slaughter;  and  instead  of  calling  for  legions  of 
angels,  suffered  Caiaphas'  armed  band  to  bind 
Him.  This  spirit  is  not  natural  to  us.  It  is  in 
our  nature  to  retaliate  and  avenge  ourselves.  We 
want  to  call  for  fire,  or  legions  of  armored  angels 
from  the  heaven  of  God.  But  this  is  not  the 
way  of  peace  or  joy. 

But  the  Holy  Spirit  waits  to  reproduce  in  us  the 
meekness  of  Jesus.  Then,  when  you  meet  all  in- 
jury and  unkindness  with  an  unfailing  Christian 
courtesy,  bending  like  a  rush  before  the  storm,  to 
rise  when  it  has  passed  over,  you  will  have  joy. 
Joy,  because  God  will  comfort  you :  because  you 
have  not  lost  yourself  in  the  heat  of  passion,  but 
have  tried  to  turn  others  away  from  their  evil 
purpose :  because  your  hands  could  not  have 
vindicated  or  extricated  yourself,  as  God's  have: 
and  because  you  realize  that  the  passive  virtues 
are  stronger,  and  the  patience  of  Jesus  Christ  will 
win  the  kingdom.  Those  who  fret  and  fume  and 
storm  through  life,  always  standing  on  their  rights, 
and  insisting  on  being  respected  and  consulted, 
are  in  perpetual  perturbation.  But  the  meek  in- 
herit the  earth.  All  the  best  comes  to  them  at 
last.  God  makes  them  His  special  charge.  And 
as  they  tread  the  path  of  Jesus,  they  share  His 
joy. 


Therefore  will  the  Lord  waiiy  that  He  may  be 
gracious  unto  you.  ha.  xxx.  i8. 

AS  long  as  the  people  tried  to  help  themselves, 
sending  ambassadors  to  Egypt,  and  seeking  an 
alliance  against  the  invader,  God  could  do  noth- 
ing for  them;  He  could  only  wait  until  they  re- 
turned to  simple  reliance  upon  Himself.  In  re- 
turning to  trust  and  rest  they  would  be  saved. 
At  first  they  said  No.  They  were  opposed  to  the 
idea  of  simple  trust  in  God.  It  seemed  impossi- 
ble to  believe  that  if  they  simply  rested  on  Him 
He  would  do  better  for  them  than  their  most 
strenuous  exertions  could  do  for  themselves.  And 
all  the  while  God  was  waiting  till  every  expedient 
failed,  and  they  were  reduced  to  such  a  condi- 
tion that  He  could  step  in  and  save  them. 

How  like  this  is  too  much  in  our  lives  !  It  is 
long  before  we  learn  the  lesson  of  returning  and 
rest ;  of  quietness  and  confidence.  We  will  trust 
in  chariots  and  horses,  and  ride  upon  the  swift. 
It  is,  of  course,  right  to  use  the  means;  but  our 
strong  temptation  is  to  put  them  in  the  place  of 
God,  and  trust  them.  You  are  trying  to  save 
yourself  from  the  just  penalty  of  your  sin,  from 
the  pursuit  of  your  foes,  from  perplexing  com- 
binations and  complications  of  circumstances; 
you  have  been  running  backward  and  forward, 
flurried  and  excited.  At  how  many  doors  you 
have  knocked  to  find  them  closed ;  and  all  the 
while  God  has  been  waiting  to  be  gracious  to 
you,  waiting  till  you  came  to  the  end  of  yourself; 
waiting,  till  like  a  spent  struggler  in  the  water, 
you  ceased  from  your  mad  efforts  and  cast  your- 
self back  upon  His  strong  everlasting  love.  He 
is  exalted  to  have  mercy ;  but  He  is  a  God  of 
judgment,  or  literally,  of  method.  He  can  only 
save  in  one  way.  Blessed  are  they  that  wait  for 
Him.  The  soul  that  waits  for  God  will  always 
find  the  Gcd  for  whom  he  waits. 
30 


As  lairds  flyin^^  so  will  the  Lord  of  Hosts  pro- 
tect Jerusalem.  Isa.  xxxi.j  (R.  v.). 

IT  was  a  beautiful  conception,  for  Jerusalem 
was  perched  on  Mount  Zion,  as  some  bird's  nest 
in  the  cleft  of  the  rocks.  Lo  !  Sennacherib  ap- 
proaches as  the  hawk,  hovering  above  the  fledg- 
lings of  the  nest.  But  just  as  the  mother-bird 
gathers  her  young  under  her  wing,  and  places 
herself  between  her  treasures  and  threatening 
peril,  so  would  the  eternal  God  spread  those 
wings,  under  which  Ruth  came  to  trust  in  the 
old  time,  over  the  entire  city.  To  Isaiah  there 
was  no  cause  for  fear  when  Sennacherib's  legions 
were  encamped  on  the  mountains  of  Zion.  He, 
at  least,  realized  that  the  pinions  of  Almighti- 
ness  were  between  the  cowering  citizens  and  the 
dreaded  foe.     Warm  and  safe  was  such  abiding. 

How  wonderful  that  Jesus  should  have  appro- 
priated this  metaphor,  and  spoken  of  Himself  as 
willing  to  gather  Jerusalem  under  His  wing  to 
save  her  from  a  more  terrible  fate  !  Does  it  not 
bespeak  His  consciousness  of  Deity  that  He 
should  hide  the  people  under  the  shadow  of  His 
care? 

This  may  be  our  daily  portion.  The  Lord  of 
Hosts  will  be  strong  as  the  lion  that  growls  over 
his  prey,  undismayed  by  the  multitude  of  shep- 
herds that  shout  at  him ;  and  He  will  be  sweet 
and  soft  and  gentle  as  a  mother-bird.  Always 
believe  that  Jesus  stands  between  you  and  what 
you  dread.  Even  now  He  is  passing  over  you. 
Do  you  not  hear  Him  saying,  "  If  you  seek  Me, 
let  these  go  their  way  "  ?  Isaac  Pennington,  an 
old  follower  of  George  Fox,  who  had  considera- 
ble experience  of  the  prisons  of  his  time,  said  he 
often  felt  the  healing  drop  from  the  wings  of 
Christ.  The  sense  of  God's  presence  and  of  His 
power  are  as  two  wings,  beneath  which  the  be- 
liever nestles,  till  calamities  be  overpast. 
31 


The  luork  of  righteous fiess  shall  be  peace. 

Isa.  xxxii.  ij. 

RIGHTEOUSNESS  must  precede  peace.  In 
the  government  of  a  Holy  God.  The  writer  of 
the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  clearly  affirms  that 
Melchizedek,  the  type  of  Christ,  is  first  King  of 
Righteousness  and  then  King  of  Peace.  In 
Rom.  iii.  the  apostle  shows  how  the  righteous- 
ness of  God  has  been  vindicated,  and  will  be 
imparted  to  those  that  believe;  and  then  says, 
**  Being  justified,  ...  let  us  have  peace  with 
God." 

In  our  inner  life.  Many  seek  for  peace  apart 
from  righteousness.  They  refuse  to  adjust  some 
wrong  in  their  lives  which  calls  aloud  against 
them.  They  refuse  to  permit  the  light  of  God's 
Spirit  to  ransack  their  past,  because  they  are 
conscious  that  to  do  so  will  expose  themselves  to 
the  inevitable  need  of  confession  and  restitution  ; 
and  as  they  will  not  submit  to  the  laying  of  the 
foundations  of  peace,  they  miss  the  peace.  So 
far  as  you  know,  you  must  be  right,  before  you 
can  have  peace. 

Li  men' s  dealings  ivith  each  other.  Be  sure  to 
go  to  the  bottom  of  disputes  and  disagreements. 
There  is  a  right  and  a  wrong  in  every  question. 
It  is  always  wise  to  lay  the  foundations  of  justice 
at  any  cost,  assured  that  peace  will  inevitably  re- 
sult sooner  or  later.  Honeyed  words  will  not 
abide ;  but  just  deeds  are  a  permanent  basis  for  a 
happy  and  lasting  reconciliation. 

How  blessed  that  forevermore  our  peace  is 
secured  !  The  righteous  shall  never  need  to  leave 
their  peaceful  habitation,  or  to  quit  their  sure 
dwellings.  However  it  may  hail  to  the  downfall 
of  the  forest  trees,  storms  shall  never  drive  them 
from  their  quiet  resting-places,  since  they  are 
founded  upon  the  righteousness  as  well  as  the 
grace  of  God. 

32 


Be  Thou  their  arm  every  mornings  our  salvation 
also  in  the  time  of  trouble.  ha.  xxxiU.  2. 

THIS  is  an  exquisite  morning  prayer,  and  the 
beauty  of  it  is  that  it  is  so  sweetly  unselfish.  It 
begins  by  appealing  for  the  grace  of  God,  but 
goes  on  to  ask  that  He  would  be  as  an  arm  of 
loving  support  and  deliverance  to  others,  before 
the  suppliant  turns  back  to  ask  for  salvation  for 
himself  in  time  of  trouble.  *'Be  Thou  their 
arm;  .  .  .  our  salvation  also."  If  you  want 
God's  arm  for  yourself,  ask  that  it  may  be  given 
to  some  one  else.  If  you  want  salvation  in  the 
time  of  trouble,  pray  that  God  would  give  His 
arm  for  the  help  of  your  neighbor. 

We  all  want  that  arm  every  morning.  The 
gladdest,  fairest  day  that  ever  broke  for  us,  or 
will  break,  must  have  been  marked,  or  will  be 
marked,  by  pitfalls  and  snares.  The  path  may 
begin  with  greensward  ;  but  before  the  evening  it 
will  have  opened  upon  stones  and  steep  ascents, 
and  you  will  need  the  arm  of  your  Beloved  on 
which  to  lean.  But  you  will  never  ask  for  it  in 
vain.  It  will  be  always  at  hand.  Be  sure,  like 
the  Shulamite,  to  come  up  out  of  the  wilderness, 
leaning  on  your  Beloved.  And  whatever  else  you 
forget  in  your  morning  prayer,  never  forget  to 
ask  for  the  strong,  tender  arm  of  God.  O 
woman,  bereaved  of  the  strong  arm  on  which 
thou  wert  wont  to  lean,  will  not  this  suffice 
thee! 

Is  not  this  a  comprehensive  prayer  for  dear 
ones  far  away  or  near  ?  Be  their  arm,  Heavenly 
Father,  to-day.  If  I  may  not  be  there  to  give 
the  strength  of  my  arm,  let  thine  be  their  stay, 
and  Thou  wilt  do  better  than  had  been  possible, 
had  I  been  by  their  side.  Then,  when  the  hour 
of  trouble  comes,  and  you  ask  that  He  should  be 
your  salvation,  the  glorious  Lord  will  be  a  place 
of  broad  rivers  and  streams. 
33 


The  day  of  the  Lord's  vefigea?ice,  the  year  of 
recompense.  ha.  xxxiv.  8  (r.  v.). 

THESE  chapters  remind  us  that  there  is  a  God 
that  judgeth  in  the  earth.  The  tendency  of  the 
present  day  is  to  reduce  all  things  to  the  opera- 
tion of  natural  law,  and  to  crowd  God  out  of  His 
own  world  ;  as  though  He  had  no  longer  as  much 
power  as  a  judge  or  magistrate  to  inflict  punish- 
ment !  Here  He  comes  out  of  the  silence  of 
eternity  to  avenge  the  wrongs  of  His  people  per- 
petrated upon  them  by  Edom.  The  Jews  could 
never  forget  that  when  they  were  in  the  extremity 
of  their  conflict  Avith  Babylon,  Edom  rejoiced 
and  said,  "Raze  it,  raze  it  to  the  foundation 
thereof."  Now,  at  length,  God  would  vindicate 
His  people,  and  punish  the  proud  land  whose 
sins  cried  to  Heaven. 

Let  us  remember  that  God  works  not  only 
through  natural  law,  but  by  sudden  manifest  in- 
terpositions of  His  providence;  and  when  He 
arises  on  behalf  of  the  meek,  the  result  is  not 
only  terrible  but  lasting.  It  seems  as  though 
God's  judgment  on  Edom  and  other  peoples, 
which  has  left  their  lands  as  desolate  scars  on  the 
face  of  the  earth,  are  instances  of  the  perma- 
nence of  God's  decrees,  and  of  their  irreversible- 
ness :  "The  smoke  thereof  shall  go  up  for- 
ever; from  generation  to  generation  it  shall  be 
waste ;  none  shall  pass  through  it  forever  and 
ever."  It  was  often  told  by  the  Waldenses,  how 
the  prince  that  broke  the  covenant  with  them 
and  drove  them  across  the  Swiss  mountains, 
died  of  a  broken  heart  at  the  death  of  his  first- 
born. 

God  does  not  appear  always  to  avenge  the 
wrongs  of  His  people  in  the  present  life.  The 
wicked  pass  away  amid  tlieir  ill-gotten  prosperity, 
but  in  the  next  world  their  evil  deeds  come  back 
to  roost  in  their  own  hearts. 
34 


The  way  of  lioliiiess. 

Is  a.  XXXV.  8. 

THIS  chapter  is  full  of  blessed  prevision  of  a 
state  of  perfect  blessedness,  when  the  curse  that 
has  so  long  brooded  over  the  world  shall  be  re- 
moved. Into  that  sweet  and  blessed  country 
there  is  a  way  from  the  present :  it  is  the  way  of 
holiness. 

//  is  a  way.  Our  holiness  is  progressive. 
Though  we  may  perfectly  obey  up  to  the  limit  of 
our  knowledge,  that  knowledge  is  ever  on  the  in- 
crease, beckoning  our  advance.  Before  us  lies 
the  path  marked  out  by  the  footsteps  of  Jesus, 
climbing  from  strength  to  strength,  and  we  are 
called  to  walk  in  it. 

//  is  a  highway.  That  is,  it  is  for  every  one 
that  will.  It  is  kept  in  repair  under  the  King's 
own  orders.  There  are  no  toll-gates  on  its 
straight  line  of  route.  It  is  like  those  Roman 
roads  which  traversed  countries  from  end  to  end, 
and  remain  to-day  imperishable  monuments  of 
the  skill  of  their  constructors. 

//  is  closed  against  the  unclean.  The  leper  of 
old  was  forbidden  to  obstruct  the  thoroughfare. 
The  unclean  soul  is  equally  forbidden  to  taint 
that  holy  way.  God's  first  requirement  of  us  is 
separation. 

This  way  is  always  trodde?i  by  Jesus.  "  He 
shall  be  with  them  "  (r.  v.,  marg.).  The  holy 
soul  has  a  Divine  Companion.  For  the  most 
part  those  who  tread  this  way  do  so  as  part  of  a 
great  host ;  but  when  the  path  seems  lonely.  He 
goes  beside  who  walked  to  Emmaus. 

//  is  plainly  defined.  Wayfaring  men,  though 
fools,  need  make  no  mistake.  Be  true  to  the 
Bible,  to  the  holy  instincts  of  your  soul,  and, 
above  all,  to  the  blessed  Comforter  who  guides 
all.  The  way  may  sometimes  be  paved  with 
jagged  flints ;  but  keep  in  it,  it  is  safe  walking, 
and  it  leads  home. 

35 


They  held  their  peace ^  and  answered  hiin  not  a 
word.  Isa.  xxxvi.  21. 

IT  was  very  bitter  for  Hezekiah  and  Isaiah 
that  these  words  of  vituperation  and  abuse  were 
spoken  in  the  open  air,  the  voice  of  the  speaker 
travelling  far  enough  to  be  heard  by  the  whole 
population  in  Jerusalem.  Rabshakeh  loudly  re- 
minded them  that  Egypt  was  a  broken  reed; 
then  suggested  that  Hezekiah's  recent  raid  against 
the  idolatry  which  had  grown  up  in  his  country 
must  have  alienated  the  God  of  Israel ;  then  that 
God  Himself  had  sent  him  to  destroy  the  land; 
and  lastly,  he  quoted  the  long  list  of  conquests 
that  had  fallen  to  the  share  of  his  master.  What 
could  Hezekiah  do  against  the  conqueror  of 
Sepharvaim  and  other  proud  cities,  which  were 
level  with  the  ground  ?  To  all  of  which  the  king 
ordered  they  should  give  no  reply. 

Silence  is  our  best  reply  to  the  allegations  and 
taunts  of  our  foes.  Be  still,  O  persecuted  soul ! 
Hand  over  thy  cause  to  God.  It  is  useless  to 
argue,  even  in  many  cases  to  give  explanations. 
Be  still,  and  commit  thy  cause  to  God.  He  has 
heard  every  word,  and  will  answer.  Thus  Jesus 
also  held  His  peace,  when  falsely  accused  : 

"  He  stood  alone, 
Silent  amidst  their  clamor — He  whose  voice 
Of  power  but  late  sufific'd  to  ope  the  grave  ! 
«  Others  He  saved — Himself  He  cannot  save  ! ' 
O  mystic  silence !  how  divine  thy  choice.'' 

But  before  going  into  this  conflict  be  sure  that, 
like  Hezekiah,  thou  hast  put  from  thee  all  that  is 
false  and  evil.  The  iconoclasm  of  the  good  king 
which  Rabshakeh  so  curiously  misinterpreted 
was,  after  all,  his  main  security.  It  is  necessary 
that  there  should  be  no  controversy  between  God 
and  the  soul  which  He  is  to  defend. 
36 


Hezekiah  went  unto  the  house  of  the  Lord,  and 
spread  the  letter  before  the  Lord.  Isa.  xxxvU.  14. 

PROBABLY  he  literally  handed  in  the  letter 
to  God,  opening  it  and  laying  it  down  in  the 
Holy  Place,  as  though  the  responsibility  of  deal- 
ing with  its  contents  no  longer  devolved  upon 
himself. 

The  post  and  telegraph  are  great  factors  in 
modern  life.  They  are  perpetually  bringing  to 
us  documents  of  one  kind  and  another,  which 
involve  anxious  thought.  Sometimes  a  heavy 
account  for  expenditure  which  has  been  neces- 
sarily and  righteously  incurred ;  or  a  story  of 
wrongdoing  on  the  part  of  some  near  relative ; 
or  some  piteous  appeal  for  help.  Indeed,  not 
unseldom,  letters  like  this  that  Rabshakeh  ad- 
dressed to  Hezekiah  may  fall  into  our  lap.  We 
read  with  beating  hearts,  and  know  not  what  to 
say,  and  finally  go  into  the  presence  of  God  and 
spread  it  out.  Answer  it  for  us,  great  God,  we 
entreat  Thee ! 

The  Divine  reply  came  first  in  the  blessed  as- 
surance sent  through  Isaiah  ;  and  next  when  the 
angel  of  the  Lord  "spread  his  wings  on  the  blast, 
and  breathed  on  the  face  of  the  foe  as  he  passed." 
Let  us  more  habitually  hand  over  our  anxieties 
and  cares  to  God.  God  calls  us  to  enter  into  His 
rest,  /.  e.,  to  place  Himself  and  His  care  between 
us  and  all  that  would  hurt  or  annoy.  "Doth 
God  take  care  for  oxen,"  and  will  He  not  care 
for  His  children  ?  Is  a  falling  sparrow  more  to 
Him  than  His  child  ?  Hath  He  brought  us  so 
far  on  our  journey  to  put  us  to  shame?  Only  let 
us  be  sure  that  we  have  given  no  just  cause  for 
the  unkind  tone  of  the  letters,  or  brought  our- 
selves into  a  false  position  with  respect  to  those 
who  hate  God.  Daily  exercise  yourself  to  have 
a  conscience  void  of  offence :  then  with  God  on 
your  side,  you  can  face  a  world  in  arms. 
37 


In  love  to  my  soul. 

Isa.  xxxviii.  ly. 

THE  R.  V.  margin  is  very  beautiful.  "  Thou 
hast  loved  ray  soul  from  the  pit."  As  though 
from  the  pit's  mouth  and  onward  there  had  been 
one  long  succession  of  loving  thoughts  and  words. 
Or  it  may  be  that  the  love  of  God  has  loved  us 
out  to  the  pit  of  corruption.  Let  that  pit  of  cor- 
ruption stand  for  the  evil  of  our  own  hearts,  the 
abysmal  depths  of  our  selfishness,  the  lustings 
and  fightings  of  our  flesh.  What  could  have 
saved  us  from  all  these,  but  the  love  of  God  ? 

The  Patience  of  God's  love. — God's  patience 
has  been  greatly  magnified  in  us,  that  He  has 
borne  with  us  so  tenderly.  If  God  had  been  less 
than  infinite,  He  must  long  ago  have  renounced 
us  in  despair.  Oh,  the  riches  of  His  long-suffer- 
ing !  He  has  lingered  near  the  pit  of  our  cor- 
ruption, drawing  us  from  it  with  untiring  solici- 
tude, even  when  we  have  repeatedly  cast  our- 
selves back  into  it  with  ungrateful  persistence. 

The  Sacrifices  of  God's  love. — How  much  He 
has  borne  and  suffered  !  The  cross,  with  its 
shame  and  spitting,  seems  to  be  but  a  revelation, 
in  terms  that  we  can  understand,  of  the  pain  that 
lies  always  on  His  heart,  and  of  the  inestimable 
cost  our  sin  involves.  It  is  this  Divine  sorrow 
which  purifies  us,  as  we  devoutly  consider  it. 

The  Purity  of  God's  love. — What  a  contrast 
between  some  fetid  pool  and  the  over-arching 
blue  of  heaven  !  Such  is  God's  love  as  con- 
trasted with  our  hate;  His  sweetness  with  our 
chidings.  His  holiness  with  our  corruption.  But 
His  love  conquers  our  sin,  and  draws  us  out  of 
the  pit.  Where  sin  abounds,  His  grace  much 
more  abounds,  and  makes  us  loving  and  lovely. 

"  Thou  art  the  victor,  Love !  " 
38 


There  is  nothing  among   my    treasures   that  I 
have  not  shewed  them.  Isa.  xxxix,  4. 

IN  the  Book  of  the  Chronicles  there  is  a  sug- 
gestion which  shows  the  hidden  evil  that  lurked 
beneath  Hezekiah's  attitude  to  these  Babylonish 
ambassadors.  "  Hezekiah  rendered  not  again 
according  to  the  benefit  done  unto  him ;  for  his 
heart  was  lifted  up,  therefore  there  was  wrath 
upon  him."  Beyond  all  other  sin,  pride  is  ab- 
horrent to  God  as  the  parent  of  other  sins,  and  it 
was  this  accursed  principle  that  prompted  Heze- 
kiah  to  that  ourburst  of  ostentation.  He  did  not 
care  to  remember  that  he  had  nothing  which  he 
had  not  first  received,  and  that  at  the  best  he 
was  only  a  trustee  of  God's  gifts  for  others.  You 
will  remember  that  by  this  sin  fell  the  angels. 
It  was  when  Nebuchadnezzar  surveyed  Babylon 
from  the  roof  of  his  palace  that  he  was  suddenly 
smitten  with  madness. 

Be  very  careful  to  watch  against  ostentation 
and  the  pride  from  which  it  springs.  The 
best  antidote  is  the  habit  of  looking  from  the 
gifts  to  the  Giver,  and  to  accustom  yourself  to 
the  position  of  a  steward  of  the  benefits  which 
have  been  done  to  you.  Oh  for  more  of  the 
spirit  of  praise  and  thanksgiving,  of  adoring 
gratitude,  of  grateful  love  !  Not  unto  us,  not 
unto  us,  but  unto  Thy  name  be  all  the  glory,  O 
Lord  God.  All  things  come  of  Thee:  wealth, 
and  the  power  to  get  it ;  love,  and  the  qualities 
that  earn  it;  success,  and  the  health  of  body 
and  mind  so  needful  to  its  acquisition.  No 
doubt  Hezekiah's  sad  lapse  is  intended  as  a 
warning  to  us  all.  The  minuteness  with  which 
it  is  recorded  may  be  intended  to  impress  on 
us  the  danger  of  coquetting  v.^ith  the  Babylon 
around  us.  It  is  impossible  to  do  so  without 
becoming  ultimately  carried  into  captivity  to  its 
corruption. 

39 


Comfort  ye^  comfort  ye  My  people^  saith  your 
God.  Isa.  xl.  I. 

THERE  is  a  considerable  interval  between  the 
preceding  chapter  and  this.  The  Jews  are  now 
nearing  the  term  of  their  long  and  bitter  suffer- 
ings ;  their  fiery  trials  have  done  their  work. 

Comfort^  because  sin  is  forgiven. — **  Look  to 
the  wounds  of  Jesus,  brother,"  said  Slaupitz  to 
Luther.  At  the  foot  of  the  cross  alone  can  sin- 
ners be  comforted.  We  need  not  only  the  assur- 
ance of  forgiveness,  but  some  knowledge  of  the 
way  in  which  it  has  been  obtained,  and  the 
grounds  on  which  it  is  based.  Our  hearts  are 
never  truly  comforted  till  we  learn  that  God  is 
faithful  and  just  when  He  forgives. 

Comfort^  because  God  is  on  His  way  to  de- 
liver.— The  imagery  is  borrowed  from  the  prog- 
ress of  an  Oriental  prince  or  conqueror.  Great 
gangs  of  men  are  sent  to  level  the  ways  before 
him.  Be  of  good  cheer,  the  prophet  says  ;  your 
God  shall  come  with  a  strong  hand.  See  the 
mountains  become  a  way ;  the  crooked  is  made 
straight  and  the  rough  places  smooth.  The  glo- 
rious Lord  comes  to  deliver  the  afflicted  from  His 
strong  oppressor,  and  all  flesh  shall  see  it  to- 
gether. 

Comfort  J  because  the  Strong  Deliverer  has  a 
tender  heart. — He  comes  as  a  mighty  one,  but 
He  feeds  His  flock  like  a  shepherd.  Strong  and 
sweet,  mighty  and  merciful.  The  Everlasting 
Father,  but  the  Prince  of  Peace.  Those  arms 
sustain  the  universe,  but  they  gather  lambs. 

Comfort,  because  He  faints  not,  neither  is 
weary. — Others  may  tire  after  a  while.  Phys- 
ical strength  droops  and  declines.  Time  seems 
long.  The  current  may  sweep  lovers  and  friends 
out  of  our  reach,  but  Thou  remainest !  "The 
Creator  of  the  ends  of  the  earth  fainteth  not, 
neither  is  weary." 

40 


Look  not  aromid  thee,  for  I  am  thy  God. 

Isa.  xli.  lo  (R.  V,,  marg.'). 

WE  are  all  tempted  to  look  around  us,  to  see 
who  is  prepared  to  stand  by  and  help  us.  We 
are  apt,  like  the  apostle,  to  look  at  the  winds  and 
waves.  Not  so,  says  our  God.  Look  not  around, 
but  look  off  to  Me ;  look  unto  Me,  and  be  ye 
saved,  all  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

These  exceeding  great  and  precious  promises 
quicken  our  desire  to  be  able  to  establish  our 
lineage  as  belonging  to  Abraham.  We  very 
gladly  catch  at  the  apostle's  assurance  that  those 
who  have  his  faith  may  claim  to  be  his  children. 
It  is  good  to  know  that,  Gentiles  as  we  are,  we 
may  be  included  in  the  Israel  of  God. 

Now,  troubled  soul,  look  unto  these  words. 
They  are  spoken  by  one  who  cannot  lie,  and 
spoken  for  thee.  They  are  as  much  meant  for 
thee  as  though  they  had  never  been  claimed  by 
another ;  and  God  is  prepared  to  fulfill  them 
in  thy  life  to  the  brim.  He  is  with  thee  at 
this  moment,  whilst  thou  art  pondering  these 
words.  He  is  thy  God,  and  will  never  act  un- 
worthily of  thy  trust.  Where  thou  art  weakest 
and  most  easily  overcome,  He  will  strengthen 
thee.  Where  thou  needest  help,  He  will  give 
His,  so  that  thy  difficult  task  shall  be  easily  mas- 
tered. And  when  thou  art  too  weary  to  walk; 
when  no  more  strength  remains  in  thee;  when 
thou  sinkest  on  the  battlefield  or  the  steep  hill 
— He  will  uphold  thee.  Dost  thou  doubt  ?  Be- 
hold at  His  right  hand,  Jesus  sits,  thy  Lover  and 
Saviour.  It  is  a  right  hand  of  righteousness, 
that  can  never  act  unworthily  of  itself,  or  fail 
the  trusting  soul. 

«'  The  steps  of  faith 
Fall  on  the  seeming  void — and  find 
The  rock  beneath  !  " 

41 


A  bruised  reed  shall  He  not  break,  and  the  smok- 
ing flax  shall  He  not  quench.  ha.  xlii.  j. 

THIS  is  characteristic  of  Jesus  Christ.  Our 
great  enemy  argues  so  differently.  He  says, 
See  !  it  is  but  a  piece  of  smouldering  tow ;  blow 
it  out,  it  is  not  worth  conserving.  Jesus  says,  it 
is  only  smouldering,  but  there  is  the  more  reason 
why  I  should  blow  it  into  a  flame.  Satan  says, 
that  is  only  a  bruised  reed,  trample  it  beneath 
thy  feet ;  Jesus  says,  because  it  is  so  bruised,  it 
needs  very  special  tenderness,  care,  and  skill,  to 
make  anything  of  it :  let  Me  have  it.  Satan 
says,  that  is  only  a  charred  brand  plucked  out  of 
the  fire,  cast  it  back  again,  it  will  never  be  of 
any  use ;  Jesus  answers,  it  cost  Me  too  much  to 
pluck  it  out,  and  I  am  not  going  to  cast  it  back 
again  ;  besides,  if  there  is  only  a  little  left  of 
solid  wood,  it  needs  the  more  solicitude  to  pre- 
serve it,  and  use  what  there  is. 

Weakness,  weariness,  and  sin,  never  fail  to 
draw  forth  the  deepest  sympathy  from  the  Lord 
Jesus.  Nothing  lays  a  stronger  hold  upon  Him, 
or  brings  Him  more  swiftly  to  our  side.  At 
home  our  mother  was  always  sweet,  but  sweetest 
when  we  were  ill  or  weary.  It  almost  tempted 
us  to  sham,  so  as  to  be  more  coaxed.  And 
Christ's  love  is  like  mother's.  You  need  not 
sham  with  Him,  you  are  weak  and  broken 
enough.  But  those  who  are  most  bruised  and 
struggling  get  the  tenderest  manifestations  of 
His  love.  He  resembles  the  strong  man,  with 
muscles  like  iron,  and  who  stands  like  a  rock, 
but  who  will  bend  in  tears  and  tenderness  over 
His  cripple-child. 

« It  shall  be 
A  Face  like  my  face  that  receives  thee,  a  Man  like  to  me, 
Thou  shalt  love  and  be  loved  by  forever ;  a  Hand  like 

this  hand 
Shall  throw  open  the  gates  of  new  life  to  thee !     See 
the  Christ  stand  !  " 

42 


Now  thus  saith  the  Lord. 

Isa.  xliii.  i,  2. 

WHO  is  lie  that  saith  /—He  that  created  ihte 
in  the  womb  of  time ;  that  has  moulded  and 
formed  thee  in  all  the  varying  providences  of 
life ;  that  redeemed  thee  by  ?Iis  most  precious 
blood ;  that  knows  and  calls  thee  by  thy  name. 
When  Prince  Albert  died,  the  Queen  cried,  in 
the  agony  of  her  grief,  "There  will  be  no  one 
now  to  call  me  Victoria."  Ah,  but  there  is  al- 
ways One  who  will  call  His  own  by  name. 
Simon,  Simon  ! 

What  doth  He  prognosticate  ? — He  foretells 
that  there  will  be  fire  through  which  the  ore  of 
character  must  be  passed,  and  waters  which  the 
pilgrim  host  must  traverse.  This  is  inevitable. 
He  is  too  transparently  truthful  to  engage  us 
without  telling  the  nature  of  His  service.  Through 
much  tribulation  we  must  enter  the  kingdom. 

"  The  path  of  sorrow,  and  that  path  alone, 
Leads  to  the  world  where  sorrow  is  unknown." 

What  doth  He  promise  ? — In  all  our  lot,  God 
is  willing  to  be  our  partner  and  companion.  He 
has  called  us  into  fellowship  with  His  Son,  and 
in  His  faithfulness  He  will  see  us  through.  The 
waters  rise,  the  night  is  dark,  the  ford  is  hard  to 
find,  and  footing  is  insecure ;  but  He  is  at  hand, 
steadying  the  feet,  and  keeping  the  head  above 
the  floods.  The  fiery  furnace  is  heated  sevenfold, 
so  that  the  strongest  soldiers  in  the  armies  of  the 
world  are  consumed  by  its  flame ;  but  one  like 
the  Son  of  Man  walks  by  his  faithful  witnesses, 
and  makes  the  burning  embers  more  delightful 
than  the  dewy  sward  of  Paradise.  The  bonds 
will  be  burned,  and  the  captive  limbs  set  free  ;  but 
no  hair  of  the  head  shall  perish,  nor  the  smell  of 
fire  pass  on  thee. 

43 


O  Israel,  thou  shalt  not  be  forgotten  of  Me. 

Isa.  xliv.  21. 

WE  think  He  has  forgotten.  We  lie  on  our 
bed  of  pain,  and  He  sends  no  chariot  to  fetch  us 
home.  We  linger  to  extreme  old  age,  and  are 
lonely  because  all  the  companions  of  our  youth 
have  left  our  side,  and  it  seems  as  though  He  had 
forgotten  to  send  the  ferry-boat  across  for  His 
child.  And  the  river-brink  is  cold.  We  toil  all 
through  the  night  against  wind  and  wave,  and  it 
seems  inexplicable  that  the  Master  tarries  so  long 
on  the  shore.  We  sit  by  our  dead  ;  and  though 
we  sent  for  Him  four  days  ago.  He  has  not  come. 
We  told  Him  that  we  had  come  to  our  last  crust ; 
but  as  yet  no  raven  has  brought  us  food. 

When  I  was  a  very  little  boy,  one  stormy  night, 
my  father,  who  usually  fetched  me  when  the 
weather  was  bad,  forgot  to  call  for  me,  and  it 
grew  later  and  later ;  all  the  other  boys  had  been 
sent  to  bed,  and  I  heard  them  proposing  to  send 
me,  and  I  had  never  slept  outside  my  father's 
house.  I  kept  up  as  long  as  I  could,  and  then 
my  heart  broke.  It  was  only  a  momentary  for- 
getting, however;  for  he  came  for  me  at  last, 
through  miles  of  storm — and  love  made  amends. 
But  not  for  a  moment  can  God  forget.  He  is 
never  nearer  than  when  He  seems  further.  He 
has  redeemed.  His  blood  awaits  its  holy  min- 
istry of  blotting  out  sin.  He  has  tied  up  His 
heart  with  us.  We  are  graven  upon  the  palms  of 
His  hands. 

The  dying  thief  asked  to  be  remembered. 
And  Jesus  said  in  effect:  "Remember  thee! 
How  could  I  ever  forget  thee,  who  alone  couldst 
speak  sustaining  words  of  love  and  trust  in  these 
sad  hours  ?  Remember  thee  1  Dost  thou  ask 
only  to  be  remembered  ?  I  tell  thee,  when  the 
shadows  fall  around  the  holy  city,  and  all  these 
crowds  have  gone  to  their  homes,  thou  shalt  be 
with  Me  in  Paradise." 

44 


Woe  unto  him  that  striveth  with  his  Maker, 

Isa.  xlv,  g. 

GOD  moulds  us  as  a  potter  does  his  clay.  In 
doing  this,  He  comes  to  a  point  where  our  na- 
ture seems  entrenched  in  all  its  might.  We  can 
yield  everything  but  this.  But  not  to  yield 
this  is  to  neutralize  our  yielding  in  all  beside. 
That  is  where  the  soul  strives  with  God.  It 
is  the  battlefield,  the  crisis,  the  crease-line  of 
destiny. 

We  may  strive  with  God  m  two  ways,  saying, 
What  makest  Thou  ?  or.  He  hath  no  hands ; 
either  by  accusing  Him  of  not  having  a  definite 
purpose,  or  by  alleging  that  He  is  not  taking  the 
best  method  of  accomplishing  it.  Have  you  ever 
questioned  the  love,  or  wisdom,  or  purpose  of 
God,  in  the  moulding  and  education  of  your 
soul  ?  Or  have  you  questioned  the  benevolence 
and  wisdom  of  His  methods  ?  To  do  either  of 
these  is  disastrous  to  peace  of  heart  and  growth 
in  grace.  We  must  will  and  dare  to  believe  that 
God  is  doing  His  very  best  for  us,  and  doing  it 
in  the  very  best  way. 

The  fate  of  those  who  strive  against  their  Maker 
is  very  terrible. 

They  are  counted  as  potsherds.  "Let  the 
potsherd  strive  with  the  potsherds  of  the  earth." 
What  is  a  potsherd  ?  A  shred  of  pottery,  which 
may  have  been  part  of  a  beautiful  vase,  but  now 
as  a  broken  fragment  is  good  for  nothing  but  the 
rubbish-heap.  See  it  protruding  from  the  cin- 
ders 1  This  is  the  fate  of  the  castaway,  which  the 
apostle  feared.  The  image  says  nothing  as  to 
our  eternal  destiny,  but  assures  us  that  we  may 
miss  all  opportunity  of  serving  the  purposes  of 
God.  Agree,  therefore,  with  thy  Divine  Adver- 
sary quickly,  lest  He  cast  thee  aside,  or  touch 
thee  in  the  sinew  of  the  thigh  that  shrinks, 
and  thou  limp  through  the  remainder  of  thy 
days. 

45 


I  have  fnade,  and  I  will  bear. 

Isa.  xlvi.  4. 

WE  must  not  press  these  words  unduly,  because 
we  have  doubtless  warped  our  original  constitution 
by  habits  of  sin  and  selfishness,  for  which  we  are 
largely  responsible.  In  these  we  may  look  to 
God  for  deliverance,  but  we  cannot  hold  Him 
responsible. 

But  there  are  other  attitudes  of  character  and 
circumstances  of  life  which  are  the  direct  result 
of  God's  appointment.  He  allowed  us  to  be 
born  with  such  a  temperament,  of  such  parents, 
and  in  such  a  home.  He  knew  exactly  what  was 
to  be  the  climate  and  color  of  the  land  of  our 
birth.  He  permitted  us  to  begin  our  life-race 
with  certain  infirmities  and  disabilities,  which 
have  been  apparently  a  great  hindrance  to  our 
success.  He  has  allowed  us  to  enter  a  business, 
or  become  united  in  the  marriage  tie,  which 
seems  entirely  hostile  to  our  best  interests.  But 
all  this  should  only  cast  us  the  more  upon  Him. 
"He  will  bear,"  as  He  hath  borne,  our  griefs 
and  our  sorrows.  It  is  when  we  touch  the  lowest 
depth  of  our  trouble  that  we  most  clearly  hear 
Him  say.  Child,  My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee; 
thy  weakness  is  that  which  the  more  calls  forth 
My  strength ;  I  will  turn  it  for  My  glory  through 
thy  life. 

By  His  grace  He  bears  and  upholds  us  in  the 
circumstances  in  which  He  has  placed  us;  and 
more  than  this.  He  bears  in  patience  and  love 
what  our  willfulness  puts  upon  Him.  He  bare 
our  sins  in  His  own  body  on  the  tree;  and  now 
He  bears  with  our  murmurings,  petulance,  and 
rebellion. 

O  God,  Thou  hast  made  us,  and  not  we  our- 
selves ;  we  are  Thy  people  and  the  sheep  of  Thy 
pasture;  still  bear  with  our  wanderings  and  sins, 
we  entreat  Thee,  till  Thou  hast  made  us  what  we 
would  be,  and  made  us  meet  for  Thy  use. 
46 


Come  down,  and  sit  i?i  the  dust. 

Isa.  xlvii.  I. 

All  through  the  history  of  the  chosen  people 
there  has  been  a  great  antagonist.  In  the  days 
of  the  sons  of  Noah,  Babel ;  in  the  days  of  the 
kingdom,  Babylon  ;  in  opposition  to  the  Church, 
Babylon  the  Great.  And  deeper  than  any  earthly 
embodiment,  always  the  spirit  of  the  world,  which 
exalteth  itself,  and  setieth  itself  against  God. 
Babylon  was  used  by  God  to  execute  His  pur- 
poses on  Israel ;  but  she  altogether  mistook  the 
situation,  and  attributed  her  success  to  her  prow- 
ess and  the  might  of  her  arms.  She  acted  with 
the  utmost  mercilessness  and  pride  toward  the 
nations  of  her  time;  and,  therefore,  when  she 
had  so  far  fulfilled  the  Divine  purpose,  her  own 
judgment  drew  near. 

Look  at  home  !  To  colonize ;  to  civilize  heathen 
races ;  to  make  roadways  across  the  ocean,  along 
which  the  Gospel  may  travel ;  to  link  the  whole 
world  by  the  nerves  of  telegraph-wires;  to  give 
the  Bible  to  every  people  under  heaven — such 
has  been  the  mission  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race. 
But  how  much  evil  has  mingled  with  it  all ! 
Think  of  the  opium  traffic,  the  sale  of  fire-water, 
the  land-grabbing  !  Remember  the  impurity,  the 
drunkenness,  the  godlessness,  which  have  fol- 
lowed in  the  track  of  army  and  navy  I  Consider 
also  the  way  in  which  our  peoples  are  giving 
themselves  up  to  pleasure-seeking  and  luxury,  to 
Sabbath-breaking  and  irreligion,  to  spiritualism 
and  so-called  Christian  science  !  And  then  ask 
whether  there  is  not  grave  cause  for  apprehen- 
sion. That  Babylon  should  fall  seemed  utterly 
unlikely  to  the  men  of  Isaiah's  time;  as  un- 
likely as  the  fall  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race.  But 
it  befell;  and  she  who  had  sat  delicately  on 
the  throne,  was  bidden  to  do  the  menial  work  of 
a  slave. 

47 


For  Mine  own  sake,  for  Mine  own  sake,  will  I 
do  tt.  Isa.  xlviii.  ii. 

GOD  finds  His  supreme  motive  in  Himself. 
Mark  how  strongly  He  insists  on  it.  "For  My 
name's  sake  will  I  defer  Mine  anger;  and  for  My 
praise  will  I  refrain  from  thee."  And  in  this 
verse  He  twice  repeats,  "for  Mine  own  sake." 
Surely  this  is  a  matter  for  extreme  comfort  and 
congratulation. 

If  God  had  saved  us  because  of  some  trait  of 
natural  beauty  and  attractiveness  which  He  be- 
held in  us,  He  might  turn  from  us  when  it  faded 
before  the  touch  of  years,  or  the  change  of  our 
inward  temper.  The  woman  whose  only  claim 
on  attention  and  homage  is  in  her  face — who  has 
no  other  qualities  to  command  and  retain  respect, 
must  often  dread  the  inevitable  effect  of  time.  It 
would  be  therefore  a  cause  of  perpetual  unrest  to 
us  if  God's  motive  were  only  one  of  pity  or  com- 
placency. 

But  God's  motive  is  His  character.  His  name 
and  nature,  the  maintenance  of  His  honor  in  the 
face  of  the  universe.  In  the  face  of  the  universe 
of  intelligent  beings  He  is  too  deeply  implicated 
in  our  salvation  to  show  signs  of  variableness  or 
the  shadow  of  turning.  He  did  not  begin  to 
save  us  because  we  were  worthy  or  lovely,  but 
because  He  would ;  and  therefore  He  will  not 
give  up  because  we  prove  ourselves  weak  and 
worthless  and  difficult  to  save.  There  are  times 
with  us  all  when  we  can  but  cast  ourselves  on  His 
infinite  grace  and  say,  "  Save  me  for  Thine  own 
name's  sake."  And  when  we  have  been  over- 
come by  sin,  it  is  good  to  go  to  Him  and  say, 
"Father,  I  have  nothing  to  plead  but  Thy  own 
nature  and  name  declared  in  Jesus :  for  His  sake, 
because  Thou  hast  made  a  promise  to  Him,  and 
to  me  in  Him ;  for  Thy  glory's  sake  defer  Thine 
anger,  forgive  my  sins ;  save  me  for  Thine  own 
name's  sake." 

48 


In  the  shadow  of  His  hand  hath  He  hid  me. 

Isa.  xlix.  2. 

THESE  words  were  addressed  to  Israel,  and 
must  be  applied  to  Him  who  alone  has  expressed 
the  true  genius  and  spirit  of  the  Hebrew  people, 
that  Prince  of  the  House  of  David  whom  we  call 
Master  and  Lord.  And  in  so  far  as  we  belong  to 
and  resemble  Him,  we  may  claim  that  God 
should  make  these  words  true  of  us. 

The  mouthy  like  the  sharp  sword,  recalls  the 
portrait  of  the  Son  of  Man,  out  of  whose  mouth  a 
sharp  two-edged  sword  proceeded.  We  may  well 
ask  that  our  words  should  partake  of  the  nature  of 
the  Word  of  God,  which  is  quick  and  powerful, 
and  sharper  than  a  two-edged  sword  (Rev. 
i.  i6). 

Hidden  in  the  shadow  of  God' s  hand  is  a  safe 
and  strong  position  for  the  Christian  worker. 
We  all  need  more  of  the  shadow,  and  we  need 
not  fear  it  when  it  is  cast  by  His  hand.  Our  life 
must  be  hidden  with  Christ  in  God,  if  we  shall 
come  forth  largely  to  influence  men.  Do  not  be 
afraid  of  the  shadow,  Christian  worker. 

The  polished  shaft  is  one  which  is  free  from 
rust.  Nothing  removes  rust  like  friction,  whether 
by  the  file  or  sand-paper.  We  have  often  to  sub- 
mit to  the  chafe  of  tiny  irritants  in  order  to  keep 
us  polished. 

In  His  quiver  hath  He  hid  me. — Always  ready 
for  use,  within  reach  of  God's  hand,  waiting  to 
be  adjusted  to  the  bowstring,  and  launched 
through  the  air  to  some  joint  in  the  harness ;  such 
should  be  our  attitude.  But  again  it  is  impressed 
upon  us  that  we  must  be  hidden  through  long 
periods  of  cessation  from  active  use,  content  with 
the  darkness  of  the  quiver  until  the  moment  of 
our  mission  has  arrived.  Then  forward,  with 
the  might  of  God's  hand  thrilling  through  our 
souls. 

49 


The  Lord  God  hath  given  me  the  tongue  of  them 
that  are  taught.  ha.  I.  4  (r.  v.). 

THIS  is  a  beautiful  image.  Morning  by  morn- 
ing the  Lord  God  draws  near  His  chosen  servant 
and  awakens  him,  calling  him  by  name,  giving 
him  some  sweet  message,  and  preparing  him  for 
the  day's  errands,  duties,  and  sufferings. 

The  tongue  of  the  learner. — The  sense  of  the 
original  is  somewhat  obscured  by  the  use  of  the 
word  "learned."  It  should  be  "disciple";  one 
that  learns  through  being  taught.  We  must  be 
disciples  before  we  can  be  apostles,  and  be  taught 
before  we  teach.  We  shall  never  do  our  best 
work  for  God  until  we  accustom  ourselves  to  re- 
ceive and  take  His  messages ;  and  there  is  no 
such  time  as  the  early  morning  for  the  lowly  pos- 
ture of  sitting  at  the  Master's  feet  to  hear  His 
word. 

To  him  that  is  weary. — Notice  that  God's 
messengers  are  sent  to  the  weary.  There  are  so 
many  of  these  in  the  world  that  special  provision 
must  be  made  for  their  sustaining  and  comfort. 
God  needs  a  great  company  of  Barnabas' s  sons  of 
consolation,  who  having  been  comforted  shall 
know  how  to  comfort  others.  No  kind  of  min- 
istry needs  such  careful  preparation  as  that  exer- 
cised toward  the  weary  and  heavy-laden.  To 
learn  how  to  do  this  involves  some  months  of 
lonely  suffering. 

Wakened  to  hear, — In  softest  whispers  God 
draws  nigh,  uncovering  the  ear,  putting  back  the 
locks  that  might  intercept  His  gentlest  accent. 
Only  let  us  see  to  it  that  we  are  not  rebellious,  or 
turn  away  back.  Let  not  the  lowliness  of  the 
work,  the  weary  mind,  the  worry  about  tiny  ques- 
tions, put  us  off  from  this  sacred  enterprise. 
And  let  us  not  be  dissuaded  by  those  who  would 
smite,  and  pluck  out  the  hair.  Neither  pride  nor 
fear  may  deter  from  this  sacred  work. 
50 


/,  even  /,  ajti  He  that  co77iforteth  you. 

Isa.  It.  12. 

IT  is  related  that  in  the  great  Indian  Mutiny, 
when  some  hundreds  of  English  ladies  with  their 
children  were  shut  up  in  the  Residency  at  Luck- 
now,  and  threatened  by  an  immense  crowd  of 
rebels,  a  leaf  of  the  Bible,  stained  with  blood, 
and  used  as  a  common  piece  of  wrapping,  was 
brought  in  to  them,  and  proved  to  contain  these 
words.  It  reminded  them  of  God  their  Maker  ; 
and  bade  them  fear  no  more  the  fury  of  the  op- 
pressor, or  the  failure  of  bread,  because  the  Lord 
God  was  at  hand  to  neutralize  the  tumult  and 
fury  of  their  foes. 

In  the  Lord  our  Maker  we  have  the  only 
antidote  for  alarm  and  sorrow.  At  this  time 
the  cross  had  not  been  erected  with  its  pre- 
cious revelation  of  the  love  of  God ;  and  the 
prophet  quotes  two  of  the  greatest  proofs  of 
God's  might — the  miracle  of  Creation,  with  its 
over-arching  heavens  and  deep-laid  foundations 
of  the  earth ;  and  that  of  the  deliverance  from 
Egypt. 

Go  out  into  nature,  behold  the  might  of  God 
written  on  His  glorious  works,  and  then  say  to 
yourself.  This  God  is  my  Father ;  and  He  would 
rather  sacrifice  worlds  of  matter,  than  forget  or 
forsake  His  child.  It  were  easier  for  Him  to  de- 
stroy all  that  He  has  made,  and  re-create  it  in  a 
moment  of  time,  than  allow  one  of  His  weakest 
children  that  trusts  in  Him  to  be  overwhelmed  by 
trouble.  Then  go  forth  and  stand  at  the  cross, 
and  remember  that  it  was  for  thee.  Surely  He 
who  went  to  so  great  expenditure  to  purchase  thee 
from  the  power  of  hell,  will  not  let  thee  perish 
before  the  malice  of  man.  Furious  men  are  but 
the  foam  of  the  breaker  which  your  Deliverer 
will  put  aside.  The  sea  may  roar,  but  it  cannot 
overwhelm. 

51 


Be  ye  clean  ^  that  bear  the  vessels  of  the  Lord. 

Isa.  Hi.  II. 

THE  chosen  people  are  at  the  end  of  the 
seventy  years'  captivity;  tlie  time  of  their  deliver- 
ance from  Babylon  has  arrived.  Their  Almighty 
Deliverer,  throwing  back  the  loose  sleeve  of  His 
robe,  to  leave  His  arm  free,  makes  ready  for  an 
unusual  exercise  of  power.  There  will  be  no 
need  of  haste  as  when  the  people  fled  at  night 
from  Egypt.  They  may  not  go  out  with  haste, 
nor  go  by  flight ;  for  their  Divine  Leader  would 
precede  them,  and  His  escort  would  be  their 
rearguard. 

This  is  the  summons  to  us  all  who  may  have 
been  in  captivity  to  Babylon  in  any  form.  We 
are  to  arise  and  depart,  shaking  loose  the  bonds 
of  our  captivity.  Let  us  follow  the  cloudy  pillar 
of  God's  presence  guiding  us  continually,  and  let 
us  not  be  always  looking  behind,  as  though  dread- 
ing the  recurrence  of  past  sins  and  mistakes. 
They  shall  not  pursue  those  whom  God  has  de- 
livered ;  or,  if  they  do,  they  shall  not  overtake. 
It  is  an  unspeakable  comfort  to  those  who  have 
sinned  to  know  that  the  old  temptations  and 
forms  of  bondage  are  intercepted  by  the  presence 
of  the  Eternal  God,  just  as  His  cloud  intercepted 
Pharaoh's  host. 

The  one  matter  about  which  we  must  be 
scrupulously  careful  is  our  cleanliness.  Of  old, 
Cyrus  entrusted  Ezra  with  the  holy  vessels  which 
Nebuchadnezzar  had  taken  from  the  temple. 
Their  custodians  needed  to  be  holy.  We,  too, 
have  to  bear  the  sacred  trust  of  God's  holy  Name 
and  Gospel.  His  day,  His  Book,  the  doctrines 
of  evangelical  truth,  His  honor,  are  among  the 
vessels  which  we  are  to  carry  through  the  world. 
We,  too,  must  be  holy,  cleansing  ourselves  of  all 
filthiness  of  the  flesh  and  spirit ;  coming  out,  and 
not  touching  the  unclean  thing. 
52 


The  Lord  hath  laid  on  Him  the  iniquity  of  us  all. 

Isa.  liii.  6. 

THE  Lord  did  it,  because  He  was  the  Lord, 
and  He  took  on  Himself  the  iniquity  of  us  all. 
"Made  to  meet"  is  the  marginal  reading;  as 
though  many  confluent  streams  poured  their  black 
substances  into  one  foaming  maelstrom  which 
filled  the  heart  of  the  dying  Saviour.  Well  may 
the  apostle  Peter  recapitulate  his  work  in  the 
matchless,  almost  monosyllabic  sentence,  "Who 
His  own  self  bare  our  sins  in  His  own  body  on 
the  tree." 

This  verse  begins  and  ends  with  all.  We  are 
all  alike  in  having  "  gone  astray."  We  have 
not  all  gone  in  the  same  direction,  nor  all  to  the 
same  extent.  We  are  not  equally  far  from  the 
fold.  But  we  are  all  away  from  it.  They  say 
that  if  sheep  can  stray,  they  will ;  and  there  is 
no  kind  of  animal  more  hopeless  and  helpless 
than  sheep  which  have  got  out  of  the  pen.  The 
ox  knoweth  his  owner,  and  the  ass  its  master's 
crib  ;  the  dog  and  cat  will  make  their  way  home, 
but  the  sheep  wanders  on  in  small  and  ever 
smaller  companies,  until  it  is  entrapped  in  the 
rocks,  or  devoured  by  wolves,  or  harried  to  death 
by  dogs.  Such  were  we.  Panting,  driven, 
chased,  weary;  but  Jesus  sought  us,  and  brought 
us  back  to  the  fold,  and  gave  us  a  name  and 
place  among  His  own.  We  are  returned  unto 
the  Shepherd  and  Bishop  of  our  souls. 

But  ah,  how  can  we  forget  the  cost  we  have 
been  to  the  Shepherd  !  See  ye  not  the  wounds 
in  His  hands  and  feet?  Know  ye  not  that  His 
heart  was  lacerated  and  broken  by  the  burden  of 
our  sins?  "Our  own  way,"  that  has  been  the 
curse  of  our  lives,  and  the  agony  of  our  Shep- 
herd. Would  that  it  might  be  forever  blocked 
against  us,  and  that  we  might  be  led  in  His  own 
way  for  His  Name's  sake  ! 
53 


O  Thou  afflicted,  tossed  with  tempest,  and  7iot 
comforted.  Isa.  Hv.  ii. 

FROM  His  standpoint  of  vision  on  the  hill- 
tops of  glory,  He  sees  the  tossings  of  thy  craft. 
Every  billow,  every  lurch,  every  rebuff,  is  dis- 
cerned and  felt  by  Him.  He,  too,  has  sailed 
through  stormy  seas,  and  is  acquainted  with  grief. 
Not  comforted  by  man,  thou  shalt  be  consoled  by 
the  Divine  Comforter.  Cast  out  by  thy  lovers, 
thou  shalt  be  gathered  to  the  bosom  of  God. 
When  the  man  born  blind  was  cast  out  of  the 
synagogue,  Jesus  found  him  ;  and  He  will  find 
thee. 

Deep  down  in  the  tossing  waves,  He  will  lay 
thy  foundations  in  fair  colors,  and  will  spare  no 
stones,  however  precious,  in  the  elaboration  of 
thy  character.  Sapphires,  rubies,  and  carbun- 
cles are  very  resplendent  and  beautiful,  but  they 
are  all  the  children  of  fire.  You  cannot  have 
them  unless  prepared  to  pay  the  cost  in  blood 
and  tears.  These  jewels  are  produced  of  very 
ordinary  ingredients,  which  have  been  subjected 
to  tremendous  pressure  and  terrific  heat.  When 
next  your  heart  misgives  you  amid  your  fiery 
trials,  remember  that  God  is  at  work  making  the 
rubies  and  carbuncles  of  your  eternal  array. 
You  will  be  well  compensated. 

There  are  destructive  agencies  around  us  on  all 
hands — the  smith  with  his  coals  ;  the  waster  with 
his  scythe  ;  the  destroyer  with  his  weapon — but 
they  are  all  beneath  the  mighty  hand  of  God. 
They  cannot  overstep  the  limits  He  assigns. 
When  a  man's  ways  ])lease  the  Lord,  He  maketh 
even  his  enemies  to  be  at  peace  with  him.  He 
restrains  the  wrath  of  his  foes,  and  surrounds 
him  with  a  munition  of  rocks. 

The  blessings  of  this  chapter  are  not  for  the 
Jews  only,  but  for  all  the  servants  of  the  Lord. 
It  is  expressly  stated  that  this  is  their  heritage 
(ver.  17). 

54 


Instead  of  the  thorn  shall  come  up  the  fir-tree ; 
and  instead  of  the  briar  the  myrtle.     Isa.  h.  13. 

HERE  are  the  substitutions  of  grace.  It 
would  have  been  much  to  root  up  the  thorn,  and 
to  cut  up  the  briar,  so  that  the  soil  should  be  rid 
of  weeds ;  but  God  does  more.  He  substitutes 
fir-trees  for  thorns,  and  myrtles  for  briars ;  and 
He  does  this  for  His  Name's  sake,  and  as  a  sign 
forevermore. 

He  will  do  this  in  your  character, — There  are 
thorns  and  briars  there ;  you  must  confess  it  to 
your  cost.  Now,  do  not  be  satisfied  with  their 
extermination,  but  seek  that  God  should  substi- 
tute their  opposites ;  so  that  the  site  of  some  old 
evil  may  be  commemorated  by  the  growth  of 
some  fair  grace.  Where  the  thorn  of  cynicism 
and  sarcasm  grew,  there  the  graceful  and  sprightly 
fir  of  forbearance ;  where  the  briar  of  malice  and 
envy,  there  the  sensitive  delicate  myrtle  of  char- 
ity. This  is  the  triumph  of  grace  in  the  be- 
liever's heart. 

He  will  do  this  in  your  home. — You  have  a 
thorn  in  that  husband,  or  a  briar  in  that  child. 
Once  you  used  to  look  for  relief  in  death.  You 
almost  questioned  whether  you  might  not  hasten 
yourself  out  of  such  terrible  and  perpetual  suffer- 
ing. It  seemed  as  though  you  were  being 
scourged  with  thorns.  But  God  will  do  much 
better  than  this.  He  is  able  to  transform  those 
trying  dispositions.  That  husband  will  become 
your  evergreen  fir-tree  :  that  child  your  myrtle. 

He  will  do  this  ifi  your  trials. — There  are 
briars  besetting  every  path  that  call  for  earnest 
care.  Many  beside  Paul  have  thorns  in  the  flesh. 
But  His  grace  is  sufficient  to  change  our  biggest 
curse  into  our  greatest  blessing.  Look  for  this. 
Ask  God  to  transform  the  conditions  of  your  life 
which  have  cost  you  excruciating  anguish,  into 
sources  of  benediction. 

55 


Even  them  will  I  bring  to  My  holy  mountain. 

ha.  Ivi.  7. 

WHO  are  these  favored  souls?  Ah,  it  is  a 
miracle  of  grace  and  comfort  to  find  that  they 
were  once,  like  ourselves.  Gentiles  after  the  flesh, 
separate  from  Christ,  alienated  from  the  com- 
monwealth of  Israel,  and  strangers  from  the 
covenant  of  promise,  dug  from  the  same  hole  of 
the  pit  to  which  we  have  belonged  !  And  if 
they  were  lifted  to  such  holy  nearness  to  God — 
if  this  be  indeed  a  true  picture  of  God's  deal- 
ings with  Gentiles,  then  let  us  take  heart,  and 
ask  that  not  one  of  these  good  things  should  fail 
in  our  own  experience. 

But  mark  the  conditions,  as  detailed  in  verse 
6.  We  must  be  joined  to  the  Lord  in  an  indis- 
soluble covenant ;  we  must  minister  to  Him  in 
daily  holy  service  as  His  priests;  we  must  love 
His  Name ;  we  must  diligently  serve  Him ;  we 
must  abide  in  the  Sabbath-keeping  of  the  inner 
rest  of  the  heart ;  and  we  must  hold  fast  by  His 
covenant.  These  are  indispensable  conditions  to 
test  the  calibre  and  quality  of  the  souls  who  are 
admitted  to  His  inner  presence.  You  must  con- 
form to  them  if  you  would  be  among  those 
whom  God  brings  in. 

To  what  does  God  call  such  souls  ?  To  moun- 
tains of  vision,  whence  they  look  out  on  eternal 
landscapes,  and  stand  above  the  taint  of  this 
world,  its  smoke  and  dust.  To  joy  :  He  makes 
them  joyful  in  His  house  of  prayer,  for  all  true 
prayer  has  in  it  the  seeds  of  everlasting  joy.  To 
that  acceptance  which  fills  the  soul  with  calm 
and  hallowed  delight.  Such  things  are  within 
our  reach ;  not  too  great  or  high  for  our  feet  to 
attain,  because  God  will  bring  us  in.  He  gath- 
ereth  the  outcasts ;  He  collects  His  flock  when 
straying,  and  leads  them  up  to  the  dewy  pastures 
of  the  mountain  lawns. 

56 


/  create  the  fruit  of  the  lips. 

Is  a.  Ivii,  ig. 

OUR  words  should  be  like  fruit.  Fruit  is  the 
final  cause  and  reason  of  a  tree's  culture ;  and  is 
it  not  to  bear  fruit  that  we  have  been  redeemed 
and  cultivated  with  infinite  solicitude?  Fruit 
reveals  the  nature  of  its  parent  tree ;  and  is  there 
anything  that  more  quickly  shows  what  we  are 
than  our  talk?  "By  thy  words  thou  shalt  be 
justified,  and  by  thy  words  thou  shalt  be  con- 
demned." Fruit,  when  it  is  ripe,  is  sweet  to  the 
taste ;  but  beneath  these  luscious  qualities  there 
is  always  the  ultimate  design  of  securing  the 
propagation  of  the  tree  through  its  seed ;  so  be- 
neath the  wit,  or  laughter,  or  strong  common- 
sense  of  our  words,  there  should  be  the  aim  of 
sowing  in  others  the  germs  of  eternal  life. 

How  often,  when  we  get  into  conversation  with 
comparative  strangers  or  our  friends,  we  are  at  a 
loss  to  turn  it  into  the  right  channels.  Then,  let 
us  lift  our  thoughts  to  God,  and  say,  Create  in 
me  now  the  right  word,  which  shall  refresh  and 
help  those  whom  I  address.  The  answer  will  al- 
ways be  one  of  peace.  "Peace,  peace  to  him 
that  is  far  off,  and  to  him  that  is  near."  Let 
our  lips  ever  ring  with  the  silver  notes  of  Peace, 
Peace  ;  Peace,  Peace. 

Still  more  in  prayer  we  may  claim  that  God 
should  create  the  petitions  which  our  lips  offer. 
You  feel  that  you  cannot  pray  as  you  would. 
Now,  put  away  the  straining  and  striving  which 
have  robbed  your  quiet  times  of  their  blessedness. 
Kneel  before  God  in  the  utter  stillness  of  your 
spirit,  and  ask  Him  to  create  supplications,  in- 
tercessions, and  worship,  on  your  lips.  Dare  to 
believe  that  He  is  doing  this,  and  be  assured  that 
the  most  broken  utterances,  which  He  has  cre- 
ated and  given,  are  sweeter  to  Him  than  the 
most  ornate  ritual. 

57 


The  Lord  shall  guide  thee  continually  ;  and  thou 
shall  be  like  a  watered  garde?i.  Is  a.  Iviii.  ii. 

THESE  are  only  a  handful  of  the  cluster  of 
promises  with  which  this  chapter  abounds.  Let 
us  ponder  them ;  they  are  full  of  comfort.  To 
be  guided  continually ;  to  be  satisfied  when  all 
the  world  around  is  athirst ;  to  be  fair  and 
attractive  to  those  who  see  us  from  day  to  day ; 
to  be  as  fountains  of  comfort  and  joy  to  the  dry 
and  weary  land  in  which  we  are  called  to  live — 
are  not  such  blessings  good  to  seek  and  keep  ? 
But  there  are  certain  conditions  that  must  be  ful- 
filled. Before  we  break  the  seal  and  appropriate 
the  money  within,  we  must  be  sure  that  our 
name  is  on  the  envelope,  and  that  we  are  in- 
tended by  the  designation. 

Firsty  we  must  undo.  If  we  have  injured 
others  by  word  or  act,  or  if  we  are  still  doing  so, 
we  must  retrace  our  steps,  and  so  far  as  possible 
undo  the  wrong  (ver.  6). 

Next,  we  must  remember  the  Lord's  words  in 
Matt.  XXV.,  and  be  willing  to  minister  deeds  of 
helpful  sympathy  to  the  bodies  and  souls  of 
men,  as  though  we  were  doing  them  to  Him 
(ver.  7). 

Lastly,  we  must  ever  remember  to  maintain 
within  our  hearts  the  spirit  of  Sabbatic  calm  and 
peace.  Not  fussy,  nor  anxious,  nor  fretful  and 
impetuous ;  but  refraining  our  foot  from  our  own 
paths  and  our  hand  from  our  own  devices ;  re- 
fusing to  find  our  own  pleasure,  and  do  our  own 
works.  It  is  only  when  we  are  fully  resolved  to 
act  thus,  allowing  God  to  originate  all  our  plans, 
and  to  work  in  us  for  their  accomplishment,  that 
we  enter  on  our  heritage  of  blessedness,  or  are 
brought  into  the  enjoyment  of  the  continual 
guidance  and  blessing  of  which  we  have 
spoken.  The7i  God  will  delight  in  us,  and  we 
in  Him. 

58 


My  Spirit  .  .   .  and  my  words  .  .   .  shall  not 
depart.  Isa.  lix.  21. 

THIS  is  a  very  precious  promise,  especially  to 
God's  ministers  and  to  all  who  are  using  their 
voice  and  lips  in  His  holy  service.  These  may 
claim  its  fulfillment  up  to  the  hilt ;  and  it  is  no 
doubt  due  to  some  pious  ancestor  having  claimed 
these  words  that  there  is  so  often  a  godly  suc- 
cession of  ministers  in  one  family  bearing  the 
same  honored  name. 

But  these  words  are  often  quoted  promiscu- 
ously and  carelessly.  Notice  there  are  two  traits 
of  character  distinctly  noted  and  specified. 

We  must  receive  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  we  must 
utter  the  words  which  He  puts  into  our  lips. 
They  are  one,  because  when  the  Holy  Spirit  fills 
the  soul  the  lips  are  touched  as  with  a  live  coal 
from  off  the  altar.  "They  were  all  filled  with 
the  Holy  Spirit,  and  began  to  speak."  Oh, 
bend  your  head  low  beneath  the  anointing  of  the 
great  High  Priest.  Let  Him  breathe  on  you, 
and  say,  Receive  the  Holy  Spirit ;  and  then  go 
out  to  be  a  witness  for  Him.  Thou  shalt  be 
taught  in  the  same  hour  what  and  how. 

It  is  a  marvellous  thing  that  God  should  enter 
into  covenant  with  man  to  keep  on  blessing  His 
seed  for  His  Word's  sake.  Yet  He  does  so.  He 
keeps  His  blessings  for  thousands  of  them  that 
love  Him  and  keep  His  commandments,  whilst 
He  punishes  only  to  the  third  and  fourth  gener- 
ation of  them  that  hate  Him.  Long  after  you 
have  gone,  if  only  you  have  earnestly  done 
God's  work  in  the  world,  He  will  be  gracious 
to  your  children  and  your  children's  children. 
Not  only,  as  the  poet  said,  "in  a  dead  man's 
face"  comes  out  the  likeness  to  one  of  his 
ancestors,  but  in  the  faces  and  lives  of  living 
men  we  may  trace  the  influence  of  their  godly 
forefathers. 

59 


Arise f  shine  ;  for  thy  light  is  come. 

Isa.  Ix.  I. 

FOR  long  the  night  had  brooded  on  Mount 
Zion,  and  the  beautiful  city  had  sat  in  the  dust 
desolate  and  afflicted  ;  but  at  last  the  watchers  see 
the  sky  brightening  into  the  splendor  of  dawn, 
and  the  cry  goes  forth  that  the  day  is  at  hand, 
calling  her  to  arise  and  shine. 

Whenever  the  glory  of  the  Lord  rises  upon 
thee,  be  sure  to  reflect  it.  Arise,  shine  !  Arise, 
to  catch  as  much  of  it  as  possible.  Shine,  that 
others  may  catch  as  much  as  possible  also.  Be- 
hold as  in  a  glass  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  in  long 
and  loving  fellowship,  till  you  reflect  it  in  full- 
orbed  glory ;  and  as  you  reflect  it  you  will  be 
changed  into  the  same  image  from  glory  to  glory, 
by  the  Lord  the  Spirit.  Arise  to  the  highest 
pinnacle  of  the  mountain  to  catch  the  dawn,  and 
then  begin  to  shine  with  a  glory  that  never  shone 
on  sea  or  shore. 

Sometimes  Christians  seek  release  from  their 
positions  in  business  or  social  life,  on  the  plea 
that  they  are  so  uncongenial  and  ungodly.  Yet 
these  are  the  very  circumstances  under  which 
Zion  is  bidden  to  arise  and  shine.  The  darker 
the  staircase,  the  more  need  of  the  candle.  Be- 
cause darkness  covers  the  earth,  and  gross  dark- 
ness the  people,  there  is  the  more  need  for  her 
towers  to  gleam  with  light.  The  Lord  has  given 
us  the  light  of  His  countenance  that  we  may 
flash  it  forward.  In  loneliness  and  solitude  let 
us  still  shine  for  Jesus,  like  the  stone-white 
steeple  of  a  church,  smitten  by  a  search-light  in 
the  night. 

"  Yet  not  in  solitude  !  if  Christ  anear  me 

Waketh  Him  workers  for  the  great  employ ! 
Oh,  not  in  solitude  ! — if  souls  that  hear  me 
Catch  from  my  joyance  the  surprise  of  joy." 


The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  Me. 

Isa.  Ixi.  J. 

WE  can  never  disassociate  those  words  from 
that  memorable  scene  at  the  Jordan,  when,  after 
the  Lord's  baptism,  the  heavens  were  opened, 
and  the  Spirit,  like  a  dove,  rested  upon  Him. 
Forty  days  of  fierce  temptation  could  not  deprive 
Him  of  that  holy  anointing ;  and  He  came  to 
Galilee,  stood  up  in  the  synagogue  of  Nazareth, 
and  announced  the  anointing  He  had  received. 

If  the  Master  needed  it,  how  much  more  do 
wel  If  He  did  not  attempt  to  bind  up  the 
broken-hearted,  proclaim  liberty  to  the  captives, 
or  the  opening  of  the  prison  to  the  bound  ;  if  He 
would  not  preach,  or  comfort,  or  communicate 
joy,  until  that  memorable  unction  had  been  im- 
parted— how  absurd  it  is  for  us  to  attempt  similar 
works  without  this  anointing  ! 

What  a  marvellous  forecast  is  here  of  the 
mission  of  Christ  through  His  Church  to  the 
world  during  the  present  age.  She  is  sent  to 
take  up  and  pass  on  this  blessed  ministry.  What 
a  true  forecast  also  of  the  needs  of  mankind  !  It 
is  as  though  the  Holy  Spirit  desired  to  reveal  the 
salient  characteristics  of  the  great  sad  world, 
that  it  would  be  full  of  the  broken-hearted,  of 
captives,  prisoners,  and  mourners,  needing  Di- 
vine assistance  and  ministration.  Man  is  so 
fallen  and  helpless  that  he  needs  the  entire 
Trinity:  The  Lord  God,  the  Father;  Me,  the 
Son ;  and  The  Spirit,  the  Holy  Ghost. 

When  Jesus  quoted  these  words  He  stopped  at 
the  comma  in  the  second  verse,  which  stood 
therefore  for  at  least  nineteen  hundred  years 
which  intervene  between  the  proclamation  of  the 
year  of  mercy  and  of  the  day  of  vengeance.  The 
time  for  repentance  is  lengthening  out,  since  God 
desires  not  the  sinner's  death,  but  that  he  should 
turn  and  live. 

61 


For  Jerusaiejn* s  sake  I  will  not  rest, 

ha.  Ixiu  I  (See  also  6  and  7,  R.V.). 

WE  have  here  the  unresting  Christ.  Day  and 
night  He  pleads  for  the  city  that  crucified  Him ; 
and  it  is  in  answer  to  His  supplications  that  she 
will  one  day  arise  from  her  ruins.  Is  it  not  also 
true  that  He  ever  lives  to  intercede  for  us,  pray- 
ing when  we  are  silent,  watching  when  we  sleep? 
His  prayer  rises  for  His  people  night  and  day. 
Perhaps  they  would  not  pray  for  themselves,  if 
His  intercessions  did  not  incite.  Certainly  His 
sifted  Simons  would  drift  beyond  hope,  if  He 
did  not  pray  for  them.  Every  sinner  has  been 
prayed  for  to  the  end  of  time  by  Him  who  said, 
"Father,  forgive";  and  every  saint,  by  Him 
who  promised  to  pray  the  Father  that  He  would 
give  another  Comforter,  the  Holy  Ghost.  The 
prayers  of  Jesus  hover  over  the  world  like  the 
dove  over  the  weltering  chaos  of  creation. 

Next  we  have  the  unresting  watchmen  (ver.  6). 
Christ's  intercession  must  be  supplemented  by 
ours — whether  for  the  restoration  of  the  Jews,  or 
the  upbuilding  of  the  Church,  or  the  salvation  of 
individuals.  There  must  be  oneness  of  prayer 
between  the  Intercessor  before  the  Throne,  and 
His  remembrancers  on  earth  ;  and  there  will  be, 
if  the  Holy  Ghost  is  allowed  to  exercise  His 
chosen  ministry  of  making  intercession  with  us 
on  behalf  of  the  saints  according  to  the  will  of 
God. 

Lastly,  there  is  the  tinrestifig  God  (ver.  7). 
He,  too,  has  no  rest.  The  rest  of  God  is 
crowded  with  thought  and  care  for  His  own. 
The  image  of  Buddha  presents  the  conception  of 
an  impassive  deity  whose  one  aim  is  to  rid  him- 
self of  all  that  might  trouble  his  repose.  In  our 
God,  on  the  other  hand,  together  with  the  perfect 
serenity  and  satisfaction  of  His  nature,  there  are 
the  eternal  tides  of  desire  and  gracious  help. 
62 


The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  caused  them  to  rest, 

Isa.  Ixiii.  14  (r.  v.). 

IT  is  the  noonday  glare  in  Palestine.  The 
sun's  rays  like  spears  of  flame  are  striking  down 
upon  the  parched  sand -wastes,  and  all  the  land 
burns  like  a  furnace.  Away  yonder  is  a  seques- 
tered glen,  where  mosses  line  the  margins  of 
streamlets  and  pools,  and  rich  pasture  keeps 
green  in  the  shadow  of  the  hills.  Thither  the 
cattle  descend  at  noon.  As  the  shadows  creep 
down  the  mountain-sides  they  follow  them,  and 
presently  the  herd  browses  on  the  succulent 
herbage  or  reclines  beneath  the  shadows  of  the 
spreading  trees,  while  the  brooks  purl  past  clear 
and  cool.  Similarly  Isaiah  says  God  brought 
His  people  through  the  wilderness,  leading  them 
as  a  horse  that  might  not  stumble,  and  finally 
conducted  them  into  the  rest  of  Canaan. 

But  how  fit  an  emblem  is  suggested  of  our 
Father's  dealings  with  us.  The  scorching  sun  of 
temptation  shines  around  us.  The  glare  of  pub- 
licity, the  fever  of  money-making,  the  strife  of 
tongues,  torment  the  children  of  men.  But  for 
God's  beloved  ones  there  is  a  secret  place  by 
Him,  a  green  and  verdant  nook,  watered  by  the 
river  of  God.  Over  its  portals  these  words  are 
written  :   "I  will  give  you  rest." 

When  once  we  learn  to  trust  our  Father's  un- 
failing love,  we  are  caused  to  rest.  Notice  that 
forcible  expression  :  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  caused 
them  to  rest.  Here  is  a  new  thought  of  the 
omnipotence  of  love.  It  can  so  reveal  itself  that 
it  almost  compels  rest.  Cause  us  to  lie  down,  O 
Lord,  we  pray  Thee  !  Job  speaks  of  Him  as 
giving  quietness :  and  then  who  can  make 
trouble?  Seek  quietness  as  His  gift!  Lo ! 
there  is  a  place  by  Him,  in  the  mountain-shad- 
owed valley  of  His  care,  where  disquieted  souls 
are  at  peace.     Seek  it  ! 

63 


Thou  mceiest  him   that  rejoiceth   a7id  worketh 
righteousness.  Isa.  Ixiv.  ^. 

EVEN  when  visiting  judgment  upon  the  un- 
righteous, God  remembers  mercy  for  His  people. 
He  meets  them  as  daily  Helper  and  as  eternal 
Saviour.  But  He  always  comes  toward  them 
down  one  pathway  ;  and  if  we  would  encounter 
Him,  we  must  tread  it.  It  is  the  path  of  waiting 
expectancy  (ver.  4) ;  of  rejoicing  obedience ;  of 
holy  remembrance.  In  these  paths  He  meets  us 
most  graciously,  working  for  us,  and  revealing 
things  which  from  of  old  men  have  not  heard, 
nor  perceived  by  the  ear,  nor  seen. 

This  meeting  of  His  servants  has  ever  been  one 
of  the  ways  of  God.  It  was  His  daily  habit  to 
meet  Adam  in  the  dewy  glades  of  Paradise,  and 
talk  with  him.  As  Melchizedek  of  old  met 
Abraham  after  a  great  conflict,  so  Christ  comes 
upon  His  people  after  many  a  hard  duty  and 
severe  contest  with  evil,  and  ministers  heavenly 
refreshment.  As  He  met  Mary  at  the  sepulchre, 
and  Peter  in  the  garden,  and  the  two  that  walked 
to  Emmaus,  and  the  disciples  in  the  grey  dawn 
by  the  lake,  so  He  meets  us  still. 

To  be  thus  met  by  God  is  a  glad  Christian  ex- 
perience. At  morning  prayer  it  gives  strength 
and  joy  for  the  entire  day ;  at  eventide  it  is  an 
inestimable  consolation  and  encouragement. 
Often  Christ  will  encounter  us  when  treading 
some  lowly  path  of  daily  duty,  and  or  ever  we 
are  aware,  we  shall  be  called  up  into  His  chariot. 
Those  whom  He  meets  He  will  accompany  in  the 
way ;  those  whom  He  accompanies  He  will 
succor  and  sustain. 

It  is  very  consoling  to  be  told  that  in  these 
ways  of  our  dear  Lord  there  is  continuance  (ver. 
5).  He  is  not  spasmodic  nor  changeable.  On 
and  on  forevermore,  without  the  shadow  of 
turning  He  will  meet  and  bless  us. 
64 


Behold,  I  create  new  heavens  and  a  new  earth. 

Isa.  Ixv.  77. 

THE  heavens  and  earth  that  are  now  were  not 
produced  in  their  present  shape  in  a  day ;  but 
through  long  periods,  which  are  chronicled  in 
the  strata  of  the  earth,  God  was  at  work  building 
them  up.  So  beneath  the  scaffolding  of  history 
and  human  affairs  it  may  be  that  the  Creator  is 
already  at  work  laying  the  foundations  of  the 
new  era  which  shall  soon  be  unveiled.  But  the 
creation  of  the  new  is  much  more  difficult  than 
of  the  old,  because  there  is  so  much  undoing  to 
be  done.  Amid  the  crash  of  empire,  the  rock 
of  revolutions,  the  blood,  and  tears,  and  anguish 
of  the  present,  God  is  making  room  for  and  pre- 
paring the  new  heavens  and  earth  in  which  dwell- 
eth  righteousness. 

Just  think  of  these  exquisite  words  ! — "Never 
remembered,  nor  come  to  mind  !  "  Our  bitter 
sorrows  transmuted  into  such  exquisite  blessed- 
ness that  for  very  joy  of  heart  we  shall  have  no 
room  for  remembering  what  seemed  once  intol- 
erable. We  shall  not  recall  the  nights  of  pain, 
the  years  of  enforced  inactivity,  the  failures,  the 
partings,  the  bereavements.  The  betrothed  will 
forget  the  long  years  of  waiting.  We  turn  to 
the  Book  of  Revelation  for  further  particulars, 
and  there  learn  that  the  blessed  future  can  only 
be  explained  in  negatives.  What  heaven  will 
really  be  is  as  yet  hidden,  that  the  surprise  may 
be  the  greater ;  but  it  is  certain  that  each  of  the 
elements  of  present  distress  will  be  eliminated. 
No  more  sorrow,  pain,  death,  curse,  tears,  or 
separating  sea.  Christ  will  make,  is  making,  all 
things  new;  and,  best  of  all,  He  is  making  us 
new  to  enjoy  them. 

Oh,  blessed  condition,  in  which  God  will  not 
remember  our  sins,  and  we  shall  not  remember 
the  former  things,  of  pain,  and  sorrow,  and 
death  ! 

65 


As  one  who7?i  his  viother  comforteth,  so  will  I 
comfort  you.  ha.  Ixvi.  13. 

THERE  is  the  mother  nature  as  well  as  that 
of  the  father  in  God.  We  are  familiar  with  the 
thought  of  the  Divine  Fatherhood ;  let  us  not 
forget  the  Divine  Motherhood.  All  the  soft, 
gentle  touches  of  mother's  hand,  unlike  any  other 
hands;  all  the  tender  pleading,  yearning  affec- 
tion ;  all  the  utter  selflessness,  that  never  recks 
what  it  expends  for  the  objects  of  its  solicitude, 
are  equally  in  God.  But  as  men  get  mad  with 
drink  and  sin,  and  refuse  the  sweet  mother-love 
which  would  gather  them,  until  worn-out  and 
weary  they  come  back  to  it  wrecked  and  forlorn, 
so  we  have  drifted  from  God's  mother-heart,  get- 
ting to  ourselves  pain  and  loss,  and  missing  its 
exquisite  solace.     Fools  that  we  are  ! 

Come  back  to  it,  children  !  Like  wayward 
runaway  babes,  at  the  end  of  the  long  summer's 
day,  who,  shamefaced  and  sorrowful,  with  their 
torn  clothes  and  grimy  faces,  hardly  dare  present 
themselves  to  those  tender  eyes,  and  yet  have  no 
alternative,  and  know  that  they  may  count  on 
the  most  tender  reception.  So  come  back  to 
Him.  He  will  receive,  forgive,  cleanse,  com- 
fort. 

A  mother's  comfort  !  Estimate  it  at  its  full. 
Remember  how  your  mother  comforted  you,  as  a 
little  child ;  as  a  man  at  the  death  of  your  young 
wife;  as  a  maiden  when  love  had  disappointed. 
How  much  more  God  !  May  we  not  then  ad- 
dress to  God's  tender  heart  those  most  exquisite 
words : 


"  Neither  love  me  for 
Thine  own  dear  pity's  wi]:)ing  my  cheeks  dry, 

Since  one  might  well  forget  to  weep  who  bore 
Thy  comfort  long,  and  lose  thy  love  thereby; 

But  love  me  for  love's  sake,  that  evermore 
Thou  mayst  love  on  through  love's  eternity." 

66 


Then  said  I,  Ah,  Lord  God !  behold,  I  caiinot 
speak  :  for  I  am  a  child.  Jer.  i.  6. 

A  SENSE  of  helplessness  is  of  prime  impor- 
tance as  a  preparation  for  ministry.  Those  who 
count  themselves  able  to  speak  will  never  become 
God's  mouthpiece;  while  those  who  have  no 
words  of  their  own  will  be  surprised  to  find  how 
forcible  and  perennial  the  stream  of  holy  speech 
will  become  through  their  lips.  Though  you 
cannot,  He  can ;  and  your  sense  of  inability  is 
the  condition  that  the  Spirit  of  your  Father 
should  speak  through  you.  Learn  to  appropriate 
the  Saviour's  affirmation,  "The  words  that  I 
speak  unto  you  I  speak  not  of  Myself,  but  the 
Father  that  dwelleth  in  Me  doeth  the  works." 

How  many  of  the  greatest  men  have  been 
broken  under  a  sense  of  their  insufficiency  !  That 
passage  in  the  life  of  John  Livingstone  comes 
back  to  me  as  I  write.  He  had  spoken  at  the 
yearly  communion  at  Kirk  o'  Shotts  on  the  Sab- 
bath with  marvellous  power,  and  had  been  re- 
quested to  preach  on  the  following  morning, 
which  he  promised  to  do  on  condition  that  his 
friends  should  spend  the  night  in  prayer.  But 
as  he  awoke  in  the  morning  he  was  so  over- 
whelmed with  the  sense  of  his  incompetence  that 
he  went  three  and  a-half  miles  out  of  the  town, 
to  be  brought  back,  however,  and  to  preach  so 
marvellously  that  five  hundred  souls  were  con- 
verted. 

The  writer  can  never  forget  the  comfort  that 
this  passage  gave  him  in  early  boyhood,  when  he 
anxiously  feared  that  he  never  would  be  able  to 
exercise  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel.  One  morn- 
ing, years  ago,  when  in  great  anxiety  to  learn 
whether  his  was  a  true  vocation  to  the  Chris- 
tian ministry,  the  Bible  opened  to  this  page, 
and  he  can  bear  witness  that  God  has  been 
faithful. 

67 


Broken  cisterns  that  can  hold  no  water. 

Jer.  it.  13. 

IN  yonder  fruitful  valley  a  fountain  rises,  full 
of  living,  sparkling,  delicious  water.  But,  see, 
all  the  able-bodied  inhabitants  have  left  their 
houses,  climbing  to  the  rugged  rocks  above  their 
homes,  and  are  engaged  with  incredible  labor  in 
hewing  them  out  those  rocky  cisterns  which 
travellers  tell  us  abound  in  Eastern  lands.  The 
heights  resound  with  the  ringing  notes  of  hammer 
and  chisel ;  for  months  they  labor  at  their  assid- 
uous toils ;  but  when  all  is  done,  the  cisterns  are 
discovered  to  be  broken  by  flaws,  and  to  provide 
but  brackish  water  at  the  best. 

Such  is  the  picture  painted  from  life  by  Jere- 
miah ;  but  how  truly  it  represents  the  spirit  of 
the  world  !  Leaving  God,  in  whom  alone  man's 
thirsty  spirit  can  find  satisfaction  and  thirst- 
quenching,  he  hath  set  himself,  with  infinite 
labor,  to  hew  out  cisterns  of  gold  and  silver,  cis- 
terns of  splendid  houses  and  reputable  characters, 
and  lavish  alms  deeds,  cisterns  of  wisdom  and 
ancient  lore.  From  any  of  these  the  hewer  thinks 
he  will  obtain  sufficient  supplies  to  last  him  for 
his  life.  At  the  best,  however,  the  water  is 
brackish,  wanting  the  sparkle  of  oxygenated  life; 
hot  with  the  heat  of  the  day. 

Jehovah  may  well  ask  whether  such  a  spectacle 
can  be  matched  anywhere  else  in  the  world. 
Heathen  peoples  are  notoriously  true  to  their  an- 
cestral faiths  and  practices.  For  vast  eras  the 
worship  of  ancestors  has  been  maintained  in 
China,  and  of  fire  by  the  followers  of  Zoroaster, 
There  is  no  change  in  the  votive  offerings  which 
the  poor  Hindoos  of  all  ages  have  laid  before 
their  impassive  deities.  "  Hath  a  nation  changed 
their  gods,  which  yet  are  no  gods?  But  my 
people  have  changed  their  glory  for  that  which 
doth  not  profit." 

68 


They  shall  say  no  more.  The  ark  of  the  covenant 
of  the  Lord.  Jer.  Hi.  ib. 

THERE  was  a  time  in  Israel  when  the  Ark  of 
the  Covenant  of  the  Lord  was  the  symbol  of  the 
national  hopes  and  deliverances.  If  Israel  was 
smitten  before  her  enemies,  it  was  thither  that  the 
people  turned  for  help.  On  one  memorable  oc- 
casion, they  brought  from  Shiloh  the  Arl^  of  the 
Covenant  of  the  Lord  of  hosts,  which  dwelleth 
between  the  cherubim — and  when  it  came  into 
the  camp,  all  Israel  shouted  with  a  great  shout, 
so  that  the  earth  rang  again ;  and  even  the 
Philistines  were  afraid.  But  Jeremiah  says  that 
this  would  never  be  done  in  the  coming  time. 
Why?  Partly  because  the  people  would  rely 
more  on  the  spiritual  presence  than  the  material 
emblem,  and  partly  because  a  new  covenant 
would  have  been  inaugurated,  superseding  the 
old. 

In  all  true  lives  there  is  something  of  this. 
We  outgrow  our  old  experiences,  and  get  as  far 
beyond  them  as  they  were  once  beyond  anything 
we  had  attained.  It  seems  to  you  that  you  can- 
not look  for  higher  heights,  more  heavenly  ex- 
periences, or  deeper  insight  than  you  have  had. 
Beware  lest  you  limit  God.  Your  highest  water- 
mark shall  be  overleaped  when  the  tide  comes  in 
again.  Wordsworth  says  Nature  was  ever  sing- 
ing to  the  child  a  more  exquisite  song,  and  tell- 
ing a  more  wonderful  tale.  And  is  not  Nature's 
voice  the  voice  of  God?  Are  not  the  inex- 
haustible stores  of  Nature  but  an  emblem  of  the 
still  more  inexhaustible  stores  of  Grace  ?  Dare 
to  press  on  to  the  things  that  are  before.  There 
is  more  love  than  has  ever  ravished  your  heart ; 
more  joy  than  has  ever  shed  its  ecstasy  through 
your  emotions;  more  utter  consecration,  closer 
union  ;  more  rapturous  insight  into  the  oneness  of 
the  Holy  Trinity,  and  our  inclusion  in  its  mystic 
circle. 


Break    up  your  fallow  ground y    and  sow   not 
among  thorns.  Jer.  iv.  j. 

GOD'S  sowing  times  are  often  neutralized  by 
the  hardness  of  the  soil  of  our  hearts.  Caked 
over  by  the  heavy  tread  of  the  passing  years, 
neglected  opportunities,  and  worldly  society, 
even  by  the  beautiful  feet  of  His  messengers,  they 
need  to  be  broken  up.  We  sometimes  speak  of 
the  breaking  down  of  a  great  convention ;  but 
such  an  experience  ought  to  lead  to  a  breaking 
up  of  fallow  ground.  If  this  does  not  accrue 
from  the  gracious  working  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  it 
must  be  effected  by  the  ploughshare  of  pain. 
"Tribulation"  is  derived  from  the  Latin  word 
for  a  harrow,  tribulum. 

In  Finney's  Revival  Sermons  there  is  a  great 
discourse  on  this  text  at  the  beginning  of  the 
book.  It  was  the  evangelist's  wont  to  open  a 
mission  by  enumerating  the  ways  by  which  his 
hearers'  hearts  could  be  laid  open  to  receive  the 
seed  of  the  kingdom.  When  hearing  the  Gospel, 
it  is  specially  necessary  to  guard  our  hearers 
and  ourselves  against  all  hardness  of  heart 
and  contempt  of  God's  Word  and  command- 
ment. 

Our  Lord  clearly  tells  us  what  the  thorns  are. 
He  says  they  are  the  cares,  riches,  and  pleasures 
of  this  life  (Luke  viii.  14).  The  cares  of  the 
poor  are  as  inimical  to  true  religion  as  the  wealth 
of  the  rich ;  and  the  absorption  of  the  heart  in 
pleasure  is  as  hurtful  as  either.  There  is  no  room 
on  the  soil  of  our  nature  for  more  than  one  ab- 
sorbing passion.  If  that  be  for  the  glory  of 
Christ,  it  includes  all  other  desires  and  pursuits; 
but  if  our  thoughts  are  diverted  to  things  or  per- 
sons apart  from  Him,  there  is  but  little  energy 
left  for  a  strong  religious  life.  O  God,  fill  our 
hearts  with  such  good  crops  that  there  may  be  no 
room  for  thorns  ! 

70 


The  sand  for  the  hound  of  the  sea,  which  it  can- 
not pass.  Jer.  V.  22  (r.  v.,  tnarg.). 

WHAT  an  insignificant  atom  is  a  grain  of 
sand  !  But  God  has  chosen  to  arrest  the  advance 
of  the  mighty  billows  by  a  barrier  of  sand-grains. 
Let  the  ocean  chafe  as  it  will,  it  cannot  pass  its 
defined  limits.  It  may  destroy  the  solid  masonry 
of  human  construction,  but  it  is  foiled  by  a  bank 
of  soft  sand. 

"  What  cannot  His  power  accomplish  for  me, 
Who  makes  of  soft  sand  a  strong  bar  to  the  sea !  " 

There  are  many  illustrations  of  this  in  the 
history  of  the  Church.  The  pride  of  the  per- 
secutor has  been  arrested  by  the  prayers  and  tears 
of  men,  women,  and  children,  who  have  had  no 
more  strength  in  themselves  than  a  bank  of  sand- 
grams,  but  have  succeeded  in  arresting  the  might 
of  their  foes.  The  persecutions  of  the  Roman 
Empire  were  finally  renounced  because  they 
actually  promoted  the  cause  they  were  intended 
to  destroy.  By  the  weak  things  of  this  world 
God  brings  to  naught  the  things  that  are  reck- 
oned mighty. 

What  a  picture  of  weak  submission,  of  suffer- 
ing patience,  of  unresisting  gentleness  is  the 
sand !  What  a  type  of  God's  hidden  ones, 
whom  the  world  knows  not !  Out  of  the  mouth 
of  babes  and  sucklings  He  ordains  strength  :  out 
of  weakness  He  makes  strong  :  out  of  the  passive 
sufferers  He  makes  His  strongest  ramparts. 

"  The   race   of  God's  anointed  priests  shall  never  pass 
away  ; 
Before    His   glorious  face  they  stand,  and  serve   Him 

night  and  day. 
Though  reason  raves,  and  unbelief  flows  on  a  mighty 

flood, 
There  are,  and  shall  be,  till  the  end,  the  hidden  priests 
of  God." 

71 


Sayings  Peace ^  peace  ;  when  there  is  no  peace. 

Jer.  vi.  14  (r.  v.). 

WE  spare  ourselves,  and  we  are  willing  to  be 
spared  by  others.  The  knife  must  not  cut  to  the 
quick;  the  wound  must' not  be  probed  to  the 
bottom.  We  are  glad  to  attend  a  ministry  which 
is  not  too  searching,  dealing  with  the  soul  rather 
than  with  the  spirit;  with  the  intellect  rather 
than  with  the  heart.  We  are  quite  prepared  that 
the  root  and  core  of  our  trouble  should  not  be 
dealt  with,  if  only  we  may  be  made  presentable 
to  our  fellow  creatures  as  soon  as  possible.  The 
corrupt  matter  may  still  be  in  the  wound,  certain 
to  break  out  again ;  but  we  are  not  desirous  that 
it  should  be  driven  forth,  if  only  we  may  soon 
regain  our  comeliness. 

In  our  dealings  with  God  let  us  reverse  all 
this,  and  ask  that  He  will  not  spare  us,  or  give 
us  anything  less  than  the  best.  The  process  may 
be  painful  and  protracted,  but  it  will  be  sure. 
The  pressing  of  the  putrid  matter  from  the 
wound  may  distress  and  horrify;  but  it  will 
make  sure  work  in  the  end. 

**  Alas,"  says  Tersteegen,  "some  never  arrive 
at  a  thorough  knowledge  of  their  inward  cor- 
ruption and  their  hidden  self-love,  nor  of  the 
perfect,  holy,  secluded,  hidden  life  in  Christ, 
which  is  the  life  of  the  new  creature.  Nor  do 
they  know  the  power  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ, 
working  in  His  own  members,  and  bringing  forth 
in  them  the  outward  life  of  holiness  to  God.  For 
all  these  things  are  taught  to  the  soul  by  God, 
and  would  never  have  entered  into  the  thoughts 
of  men ;  and  they  have  limited  themselves  within 
themselves,  and  enclosed  themselves,  so  to  speak, 
within  their  own  ideal."  Let  us  be  warned  by 
these  words,  and  never  heal  up  any  wound  which 
God  would  keep  open,  till  all  the  evil  it  was  in- 
tended to  remove  has  left  our  system. 
72 


The  temple  of  the  Lord,  the  temple  of  the  Lord, 
the  temple  of  the  Lord,  are  these,  Jer.  vU.  4. 

WHEN  Jeremiah  threatened  Israel  with  the 
coming  of  the  king  of  Assyria,  the  false  prophets 
minimized  the  terror  of  his  utterances  by  point- 
ing to  the  temple  and  assuring  the  people  that 
there  was  no  reason  to  anticipate  the  overthrow 
of  their  city,  since  it  was  the  custodian  of  the 
holy  shrine  of  Jehovah.  *' Ye  have  the  temple 
in  your  midst,  surely  then  you  are  a  religious 
people.  You  cannot  be  as  bad  as  this  pessimistic 
prophet  alleges,  and  God  cannot  very  well  dis- 
pense with  you." 

But  men  may  perform  the  most  sacred  rites, 
and  yet  perpetrate  the  grossest  crimes.  The 
presence  of  a  temple  with  all  its  priests  and  rites 
does  not  necessarily  denote  holiness;  but  often 
the  contrary.  In  Roman  Catholic  countries, 
brigands  will  seek  the  blessing  of  heaven  on  their 
plans  of  murder  and  plunder.  Our  safety  lies, 
not  in  outward  rites,  but  in  amending  our  ways 
and  doings.  Not  in  having  sprung  from  godly 
parents,  nor  in  engagedness  in  holy  things,  nor 
in  the  practice  of  religious  rites,  will  help  come ; 
but  in  being  genuinely  right  with  God.  Real 
religion  consists  not  in  temple-rites,  but  in  hu- 
mility, unselfishness,  and  godliness.  Saul  of 
Tarsus  is  the  type  of  many  who  are  zealous  for 
religion,  but  destitute  of  its  power. 


'•  Here  on  earth  a  temple  stands, 
Temple  never  built  with  hands; 
There  the  Lord  doth  fill  the  place 
With  the  glory  of  His  grace. 
Cleansed  by  Christ's  atoning  Blood, 
Thou  art  this  fair  house  of  God, 
Where  the  soul,  a  priest  in  white, 
Singeth  praises  day  and  night; 
Glory  of  the  Love  divine. 
Filling  all  this  heart  of  thine." 
73 


Is  there  no  balvi  in  Gilead  ?     Is  there  no  physi- 
cian there  ?  Jer.  viii.  22. 

HOW  many  of  God's  children  are  discour- 
aged !  They  have  mourned,  confessed,  and  re- 
solved ;  but  they  do  not  expect  to  see  any  great 
alteration  in  themselves.  They  have  lost  hope. 
Now,  it  is  evident  that  as  long  as  this  spirit  pre- 
vails, there  is  very  little  prospect  of  improve- 
ment. Discouragement  can  only  bring  defeat. 
One  of  the  first  objects  of  a  physician  is  always 
to  awaken  hope,  for  otherwise  he  knows  that  his 
medicines  can  profit  but  little.  Now,  bethink 
you,  what  is  the  cause  of  your  failure  ?  Is  it  in 
God  ?  Is  there  not  balm  in  Gilead  ?  Is  there 
not  a  physician  there  ?  Why,  then,  is  the  health 
of  the  daughter  of  my  people  recovered  ? 

O  wounded,  sorrowful  soul,  there  is  balm  in 
Gilead,  there  is  a  Good  Physician.  No  hurt  He 
cannot  heal,  no  bleeding  He  cannot  staunch,  no 
sickness  He  cannot  cure  !  Why  keep  lamenting 
so  bitterly,  '*My  bad  heart,  my  bad  heart"? 
Why  speak  as  though  that  temper,  that  predispo- 
sition to  sin,  that  habit,  were  to  be  lost  only  in 
death?  Why  be  uncomforted?  Jesus  can  heal 
all  sicknesses,  all  diseases,  among  the  people. 
One  touch  of  the  King  can  heal  the  soul  of  what- 
soever disease  it  has. 

Why  are  you  not  in  health?  It  is  because  you 
resort  to  quacks,  and  not  to  the  Divine  Physi- 
cian ;  or  because  you  do  not  bare  your  pain  to 
its  roots  before  Him ;  or  because  you  refuse  to 
abandon  yourself  wholly  to  His  prescriptions  and 
treatment.  Dare  to  search  out  and  know  the 
cause  of  ill-health  ;  for  be  sure  it  is  on  your  side, 
not  Christ's.  Then  let  Him  treat  you  as  He 
will.  He  will  prescribe  diet,  exercise,  fresh  air, 
change  of  scene.  He  may  use  the  knife,  but  He 
will  do  His  work  as  dexterously  and  painlessly  as 
possible.  "  Who  healeth  all  thy  diseases." 
74 


IV/io  IS  he  to  whom  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath 
spoken  J  that  he  may  declare  it  ?  Jer.  ix.  jz. 

A  SAINTLY  soul  has  translated  these  words 
into  music,  which  expresses  their  inner  thought : 

«*  Lord,  speak  to  me,  that  I  may  speak 
In  living  echoes  of  Thy  tone : 
As  Thou  hast  sought,  so  let  me  seek 
Thy  erring  children,  lost  and  lone. 

"  O  teach  me,  Lord,  that  I  may  teach 

The  precious  things  Thou  dost  impart : 
And  wing  my  words,  that  they  may  reach 
The  hidden  depths  of  many  a  heart." 

With  such  expressions  of  the  disciples  of  the 
Lord,  we  should  couple  His  sublime  words  :  *'  Be 
not  anxious  how  or  what  ye  shall  speak :  for  it 
shall  be  given  you  in  that  hour  what  ye  shall 
speak.  For  it  is  not  ye  that  speak,  but  the  Spirit 
of  your  Father  that  speaketh  in  you."  And 
again  He  said  :  "  What  I  tell  you  in  the  dark- 
ness, speak  ye  in  the  light :  and  what  ye  hear  in 
the  ear,  proclaim  upon  the  housetops."  Often 
we  have  run  before  we  were  sent.  We  have 
spoken  our  own  message,  and  it  has  fallen  flat 
and  powerless.  We  have  elaborated  our  sentences 
with  careful  art,  but  they  have  been  lighter  than 
vanity,  for  want  of  the  King's  word,  in  which 
alone  there  is  power. 

Let  us  amend  our  ways,  and  wait  on  Him  for 
His  word,  going  forth  to  speak  it  with  an  au- 
thority which  can  only  be  obtained  when  one  has 
the  consciousness  of  a  Thus  saith  the  Lord.  We 
may  have  to  go  into  the  darkness  of  pain  and 
sorrow,  or  hide  in  the  closet  far  from  the  rush  of 
the  world,  and  the  clamor  of  human  voices ;  but 
we  shall  hear  Him  speak,  as  the  prophet  Elijah 
did  at  Horeb,  when  the  still,  small  voice  filled 
the  cave  with  its  thrilling  cadence. 
75 


The  shepherds  are  become  brutish,  and  have  not 
inquired  of  the  Lord.  Jer.  x.  21  (r.  v.). 

THIS  is  a  very  solemn  indictment ;  but  the 
pity  of  it  is  that  it  is  true  of  many  shepherds  of 
flocks  in  our  own  land.  We  must  avoid  general- 
izing too  widely ;  but,  on  the  whole,  it  is  incon- 
testable that  a  dwindling  flock  and  waning  cause 
point  to  prayerlessness  perhaps  on  the  part  of  the 
members,  but  almost  certainly  on  the  part  of  the 
shepherd  himself.  And  it  becomes  us  to  search 
our  hearts  to  see  how  far  our  prayerlessness  may 
not  be  hindering  the  work  of  God  in  our  own 
church. 

One  of  the  most  solemn  sermons  ever  addressed 
to  ministers  is  that  of  Dr.  Binney's  on  this  text; 
and  he  shows  that  the  correlative  must  also  be 
true,  and  that  where  we  seek  the  Lord  we  shall 
prosper,  our  work  shall  become  successful,  and 
our  flock  increased.  The  old  Latin  motto  said 
that  to  pray  is  to  labor ;  and  some  of  the  best 
work  in  the  world  has  been  done  by  simple 
prayer.  You  may  be  laboring  quite  as  effectively 
when  you  are  shut  within  your  closet  doors  as 
when  going  to  and  fro  in  the  world  in  active 
Christian  endeavor.  It  is  remarkable  that  whilst 
Philip  was  able  to  preach  Jesus,  and  to  bring 
many  to  Him,  it  was  needful  that  the  best  re- 
sults of  the  Gospel  could  not  be  realized  till 
Peter  and  John  had  come  down  from  Jerusalem 
to  pray  for  the  new  converts  (Acts  viii.  14). 
Let  us  ponder  and  practice  the  five  simple 
rules  given  by  our  sainted  brother,  George 
Miiller,  for  prevailing  prayer: — (i)  Not  for  our 
own  worthiness.  (2)  Solely  through  Christ's 
merits,  on  the  ground  of  His  cross  and  resurrec- 
tion. (3)  For  the  glory  of  God.  (4)  No  sin 
must  be  allowed,  since  this  absolutely  bars  bless- 
ing- (5)  Be  patient :  glorify  God  by  waiting  on 
Him. 

76 


Then  answered  I,  and  said,  Ame?i,  O  Lord. 

Jer.  xi.  J. 

WHEN  God  recapitulated  His  promises  in  the 
heart  of  Jeremiah,  even  though  they  involved  a 
curse  on  those  who  neutralized  His  words,  there 
arose  from  it  a  deep  response.  He  answered  and 
said,  Amen,  O  Lord.  What  a  remarkable  ex- 
ample for  us  all  !  By  life  and  lip,  by  deed  and 
word,  when  we  can  understand  and  when  we 
cannot,  when  the  words  are  illuminated  with 
blue  and  gold,  when  they  are  as  black  as  the  old 
black-lettered  missals,  always  and  everywhere, 
let  us  answer,  and  say,  Amen,  O  Lord.  We  are 
irresistibly  reminded  of  our  Lord's  words,  after 
He  had  been  contemplating  the  doom  of  the 
cities  that  refused  Him,  and  the  mysterious  re- 
fusal which  the  wise  and  prudent  accorded  to 
His  message.  He  said  solemnly  and  emphatic- 
ally, "Yea,  Father." 

It  is  an  awful  thing  to  read  this  context,  and 
to  remark  the  sentence  to  which  Jeremiah  said 
Amen.  "Cursed  be  the  man  that  heareth  not 
the  words  of  this  covenant."  Is  it  lawful,  think 
you,  to  infer  that  the  saints  will  one  day  ac- 
quiesce in  God's  verdict  on  the  disobedient  and 
ungodly  ?  It  may  be  that  we  shall  be  so  fully 
convinced  of  the  mercy  of  God,  which  sought 
the  salvation  of  the  lost,  and  shall  see  so  clearly  all 
the  many  efforts  He  made  for  their  arrest,  that 
we  shall  solemnly  and  sadly  answer  and  say, 
Amen,  O  Lord,  to  their  doom. 

But  if  these  words  should  be  read  by  one  who 
is  resisting  and  disbelieving  the  love  of  God  that 
would  fain  lead  him  into  tlie  land  that  floweth 
with  milk  and  honey,  let  him  beware  lest  his  sin- 
ful refusal  to  be  saved,  his  strife  against  the 
mercy  of  God,  will  one  day  be  so  patent  that  his 
dearest  friend  will  answer  and  say,  Amen,  O 
Lord. 

77 


Righteous  art  Thou,  O  Lord:  .   .   .  wherefore 
doth  the  way  of  the  wicked  prosper  f  Jer.  xii.  i. 

"  I  WOULD  reason  with  Thee."  Religion  is 
often  misrepresented  as  unreasonable.  But  there 
is  nothing  to  warrant  the  charge.  On  the  con- 
trary, the  perpetual  note  of  the  Scriptures  is, 
"  Come  and  let  us  reason  together."  Doubtless 
there  are  many  things  revealed  which  never  could 
have  been  discovered  by  reason,  but  there  is 
nothing  which  may  not  be  apprehended  and  ap- 
preciated by  it.  Man's  reason  was  made  in  the 
image  of  God's.  At  present,  however,  our  rea- 
soning faculties  are  probably  in  their  earliest 
stage  of  development,  and  we  are  much  as  in- 
fants admitted  to  some  scientific  laboratory  or 
library. 

God  demands  that  we  should  use  our  reason, 
not  only  on  the  facts  of  nature,  but  on  those 
revealed  in  the  Bible.  He  likes  us  to  reason  out 
things  with  Him.  Much  better  this  than  to  rea- 
son against  Him.  If  instead  of  turning  from 
Him  to  discuss  with  each  other,  men  would  only 
turn  to  Him,  there  would  be  given  them  either 
an  insight  into  His  ways,  or  grace  to  wait  and 
trust.  Job,  Moses,  Asaph,  and  Jeremiah  did 
this ;  and  with  them  all  the  same  problem  trou- 
bled them.   Why  do  the  wicked  prosper  ? 

But  there  is  one  fact  which  can  never  be  ques- 
tioned. We  must  always  begin  our  reasoning  by 
saying,  "  Righteous  art  Thou,  O  God."  This  is 
a  foundation  fact  which  underlies  His  throne. 
We  cannot  question  it.  By  the  very  conscience 
which  He  has  put  within  us,  and  by  the  whole 
trend  and  drift  of  His  Providence,  He  has  put 
His  Righteousness  beyond  question.  As  Abra- 
ham said,  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  must  do 
right.  But  when  we  grant  this,  we  may  proceed 
to  ask  how  certain  facts  which  are  permitted  in 
the  world  are  consistent  with  it.  He  may  ex- 
plain :  or  He  may  say,  Not  now,  but  presently. 
78 


That  they  might  be  tinto  Me  for  a  people,  and  for 
a  name,  and  for  a  glory.  Jer.  xiii.  ii. 

ISRAEL  had  the  opportunity  of  becoming  a 
people,  a  name,  and  a  glory  ;  but  they  would 
not.  In  their  declension  and  refusal  God  has 
turned  to  the  Church,  largely  chosen  from  among 
the  Gentiles,  and  in  which  we  by  His  grace  have 
a  part.  To  us  their  privileges  are  offered.  Let 
us  gladly  avail  ourselves  of  them,  and  become 
unto  God  the  people  of  His  inheritance,  in  whom 
He  may  find  a  welcome  and  a  home.  Oh  to  be 
a  name  to  Him,  so  that  men  may  understand  and 
revere  Him  the  better  because  of  what  we  are  ! 
Oh  to  be  a  glory  to  Him,  so  that  He  may  ac- 
count us  as  His  choice  ornament  and  jewel !  Oh 
to  be  as  intimately  united  to  Him  as  the  girdle 
worn  on  the  prophet's  loins  ! 

Our  hearts  misgive  us  as  we  write  or  read. 
How  can  such  things  be?  Behold,  like  that 
same  girdle  we  have  become  marred  and  profit- 
less. Yet,  there  is  one  phrase  here  which  is 
radiant  with  hope:  "  As  the  girdle  cleaveth  .  . 
.  so  have  I  caused  to  cleave. "  "  Caused  to 
cleave."  We  are  not  able  to  cleave  ;  we  have  so 
often  tried  to,  and  failed  ;  but  now  we  come  in 
humble  eagerness  before  Him,  and  say,  '*  Cause 
us  to  cleave,  O  God ;  cause  us  to  walk  in  Thy 
ways ;  cause  us  to  do  Thy  will ;  cause  us  to  be  a 
people,  a  name,  and  a  glory  unto  Thyself." 

"O  man,"  Tersteegen  said,  "whoever  you 
are,  stand  still  for  a  moment,  and  think  earnestly 
of  the  high  dignity  for  which  you  were  created 
and  sent  into  the  world  by  God.  You  were  not 
made  for  time  and  for  passing  things,  but  for 
God  and  eternity,  and  to  have  your  heart  filled 
with  God  and  with  the  things  eternal.  Yield 
yourself  up  fearlessly  to  His  mighty  working,  and 
be  still,  and  welcome  Him  in  His  gracious  opera- 
tion in  the  heart." 

79 


lV7iy  sJioiildest  Thou  he  as  a  man  astonished^  as 
a  mighty  man  that  cannot  save  ?  Jer.  xiv.  g. 

A  STRONG  man  may  be  rendered  powerless 
by  a  reel  of  cotton  being  wound  around  him. 
Each  thread  so  brittle,  yet  all  together  is  irresisti- 
ble. So  a  large  number  of  inconsistencies  and 
insincerities  may  make  God  powerless  to  help 
you,  or  to  work  mightily  through  you  to  the  sal- 
vation of  others.  He  may  be  in  the  midst  of 
you,  and  you  may  be  called  by  His  name ;  great 
issues  for  His  kingdom  and  glory  may  seem  at 
stake;  mighty  possibilities  within  your  reach; 
and  yet  He  is  as  a  mighty  man  that  cannot 
save. 

There  is  might  enough  in  God  to  save  the 
weakest  and  sinfullest  of  His  children  ;  and  you 
are  unsaved  because  of  the  limitations  you  have 
placed  upon  Him.  First,  you  are  not  absolutely 
willing  to  be  delivered  from  your  sins.  Secondly, 
you  do  not  entirely  believe  in  His  power  and 
will.  Thirdly,  you  have  not  definitely  handed 
the  whole  matter  over  to  Him,  and  believed  that 
He  has  accepted  the  charge. 

Or — and  this  is  perhaps  the  deepest  reason  of 
all — you  have  formed  your  own  ideas  of  Divine 
truth,  and  of  the  possible  Christian  life.  And 
having  formed  your  own  conception  of  the  true 
ideal  of  Christianity,  you  have  thenceforth  lived 
within  the  limitations  of  your  ideal,  which  is 
bounded  by  human  wisdom  and  human  thought. 
And  so  you  never  come  to  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  indwelling  of  Christ,  or  what  He  is  pre- 
pared to  do  for  you  ;  or,  catching  a  glimpse  of  it 
from  afar,  you  are  not  sufficiently  delivered  from 
the  reasonings  and  workings  of  your  mind  to  give 
Him  that  opportunity  for  which  He  waits  and 
yearns.  The  Lord  Jesus  could  do  infinitely  more 
in  us,  and  through  us,  if  we  did  not  hinder.  Be 
sure  that  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  within ;  but 
you  must  let  it  possess  you. 
80 


If  thou  return,  then  will  I  bring  thee  again,  that 
thou  viayest  stand  before  Me.    Jer.  xv.  ig  (r.  v.). 

WHAT  a  promise  for  backsliders  is  this ! 
Here  is  a  soul  that  had  gone  away  from  God's 
presence,  and  had  ceased  to  be  as  His  mouth. 
How  long  it  had  been  in  this  castaway  condition 
we  need  not  inquire.  It  is  enough  to  know  that 
it  had  dipped  beneath  the  horizon,  and  been 
permitted  to  know  the  bitter  anguish  of  seeing 
others  do  its  chosen  work.  Have  you  known 
this  ?  Then  these  words  were  written  for  you ; 
eat  them,  and  let  them  be  unto  you  the  joy  and 
rejoicing  of  your  heart. 

Will  you  return  to  God  ?  Do  you  want  it  to 
be  as  in  the  old  time?  Tell  Him  so,  and  He 
will  bring  you  again.  It  will  not  take  Him  a 
second's  space  to  restore  you  to  where  you  were 
wont  to  stand.  Dare  to  believe  that  you  are 
there  again,  forgiven,  cleansed,  sanctified.  Live 
there.     Go  no  more  out  forever. 

Will  you  leave  what  is  vile,  unworthy,  and  un- 
holy, casting  it  away  as  so  much  dross,  and  take 
forth  only  the  gold,  silver,  and  precious  stones, 
of  a  holy  character  ?  then  God  will  make  you  His 
mouth,  through  which  He  will  speak  to  saint  and 
sinner.  Is  not  this  worth  whatever  it  may  cost 
you  ?  Remember  how  Peter  sinned ;  but  within 
fifty  days  he  was  speaking  as  the  mouth  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  to  thousands. 

It  was  thus,  also,  that  Mark  was  brought  again, 
who  forsook  the  apostle,  in  his  first  missionary 
journey,  but  he  was  honored,  as  the  mouth  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  to  write  the  Gospel  that  bears  his 
name. 

"  I  know  not  what  I  am,  but  only  know 

I  have  had  glimpses  tongue  may  never  speak : 

No  more  I  balance  human  joy  or  woe, 

But  think  of  my  transgressions,  and  am  meek. 

Saviour !  forgive  the  child  who  sinnM  so — 

His  proud  heart  yields — the  tears  are  on  his  cheek." 

81 


0  Lord,  7ny  strength,  and  my  stronghold,  and  my 
refuge  i?i  the  day  of  affliction.      Jer.  xvi.  ig  (r.  v.). 

ONE  of  the  puritans  was  accustomed  to  de- 
scribe prayer  as  the  flight  of  the  lonely  man  to 
the  only  God.  There  is  such  prayer  here.  This 
man  is  very  lonely.  He  is  like  a  speckled  bird, 
set  on  by  all  the  birds  of  the  flock.  He  looks 
right  and  left,  but  there  is  no  man  to  care  for  his 
soul ;  then  he  addresses  himself  to  God  in  these 
touching  words. 

My  strefjgth. — The  psalmist  spoke  of  God  as 
the  strength  of  his  life.  The  apostle  of  love 
said  that  little  children  could  overcome  the 
world,  because  He  that  was  in  them  was  greater 
and  stronger  than  he  that  was  in  the  world. 
"  God  is  the  strength  of  my  life;  of  whom  shall 

1  be  afraid." 

My  stronghold. — A  stronghold  is  what  holds 
strongly.  A  keep  is  that  which  keeps.  We  keep 
God's  deposit,  which  is  His  Gospel :  God  keeps 
our  deposit,  which  is  ourselves.  And  none,  man 
nor  devil,  can  snatch  us  away.   * 

My  refuge  in  the  day  of  affliction. — The  night 
darkening  the  sky  drives  the  chicks  to  the  hen's 
wings;  so  affliction  drives  us  to  God.  "  In  the 
shadow  of  Thy  wings  will  I  make  my  refuge, 
until  these  calamities  be  overpast." 

Do  you  wish  to  know  Him  thus?  See  that  you 
do  not  burden  yourself  by  your  endeavors.  God 
is  a  Spirit,  and  within  your  spirit.  You  need  not 
ascend  into  heaven,  nor  descend  into  the  deep. 
You  need  not  weary  yourself  with  the  reasonings 
and  reflections  and  questionings  of  your  mind  or 
heart.  By  these  means  yon  will  wander  further 
from  Him  and  His  knowledge.  Be  still  and 
know.  Enter  into  the  still  and  peaceful  land  of 
inward  spiritual  fellowship.  Commune  with  your 
own  heart.  Be  a  child  before  Him,  innocent, 
unaffected,  unrestrained. 
82 


Bear  no  burden  on  the  Sabbath-day y  nor  bring  it 
in  by  the  gates  of  Jerusalem.  Jer.  xvU.  21. 

IN  the  R.  V.  inarg. ,  ' '  take  heed  to  yourselves ' ' 
is  rendered  "  take  heed  for  your  life's  sake,"  as 
if  the  matter  dealt  with  in  this  paragraph  closely 
pertained  to  the  conditions  of  the  best  life.  And 
is  it  not  so  ?  Is  it  not  a  matter  of  vital  impor- 
tance that  we  should  keep  the  eternal  Sabbath  in 
our  hearts,  and  suffer  no  burden  to  be  brought 
through  the  gates  of  the  soul  ?  Even  if  we  con- 
sider this  matter  from  the  lowest  aspect,  how  cer- 
tain it  is  that  absence  of  worry  and  fret  promotes 
length  of  days  !  But  in  the  deepest  sense  we 
must,  like  Jeremiah,  set  a  guard  at  the  city 
portals,  and  insist  that  no  anxiety  should  cross 
our  threshold.  Do  you  ask  what  sentry  is  strong 
enough  to  arrest  the  intrusion  of  burden-bearing 
thoughts?  I  reply,  let  the  peace  of  God  keep 
your  mind  and  heart.  Meet  every  anxiety  with 
the  one  short,  strong,  sweet  answer — God ;  God 
will  see  to  it ;  God  will  provide. 

In  verse  24  we  are  bidden  diligently  to  hearken 
to  God  in  this  matter.  It  must  therefore  be 
within  our  power.  The  will  can  direct  the 
thoughts  to  what  object  it  chooses.  Do  not  look 
down,  but  up;  not  backward  or  forward,  but 
God-ward.  It  is  right  to  think  calmly  and  de- 
liberately about  the  issues  of  things;  but  the 
allowance  of  foreboding  anxiety  is  a  positive  sin 
against  the  love  of  God. 

The  result  is  beautiful.  Obey  God  in  this, 
and  the  King  Himself  shall  enter  the  gates  of 
your  city  (ver.  25).  Your  life  will  be  filled  with 
burnt-offerings  and  frankincense  and  thanksgiving 
(ver.  26).  And  from  the  perfect  balance  and 
rest  of  your  nature  you  will  be  able  to  look  out 
with  equanimity  on  the  storm  and  change  around. 
We  which  have  believed  do  enter  into  the  Sab- 
batism  which  remaineth. 
83 


He  made  it  again. 

Jer.  xviii.  4. 

GOD  wants  to  make  the  very  best  He  can  of 
each  of  His  children.  He  puts  us  on  His  wheel, 
and  subjects  us  to  the  discipline  which  He  deems 
most  likely  to  secure  our  greatest  blessedness  and 
usefulness.  But,  alas !  how  often  He  finds  a 
marred  vessel  left  on  His  hands  when  He  desired 
and  sought  perfect  beauty  and  strength  !  This 
is  through  no  failure  on  His  part ;  but  because 
some  bubble  of  vanity  or  grit  of  self-will  has 
hindered  Him. 

Alas,  how  many  have  marred  His  work ! 
What  might  we  not  have  been,  if  only  we  had 
perfectly  yielded  to  Him  !  It  is  enough  to  break 
our  hearts  to  recall  all  the  wasted  and  misspent 
years,  when  He  would,  but  we  would  not. 

When  this  has  been  the  case,  He  does  not  cast 
us  utterly  away;  but  puts  us  afresh  upon  the 
wheel,  and  "  makes  us  again."  If  He  cannot  do 
what  He  desired  at  the  first,  He  will  still  make 
the  best  of  us;  and  the  weakness  of  God  is 
stronger  than  men.  Let  God  take  your  life 
which  has  hitherto  proved  a  failure;  He  will  make 
of  what  remains  of  it  more  than  men  could  make 
with  all  earthly  advantages  on  their  side,  and 
with  nothing  to  hinder  its  regular  development. 

Yield  yourself  afresh  to  God.  Confess  that 
you  have  marred  His  work.  Humbly  ask  that 
He  should  make  you  again,  as  He  made  again 
Jacob  and  Peter  and  John  and  Mark.  Only  be 
careful  in  all  time  to  come — first,  to  give  God 
sufficient  opportunity  by  waiting  before  Him  ; 
and  secondly,  to  be  very  prompt  to  obey  all  that 
He  may  impress  upon  you  as  being  His  holy  will. 
There  is  simply  no  limit  to  the  progress  and 
development  of  the  soul  which  is  able  to  meet 
God  with  a  never-faltering  "  Yes."  Let  the  life- 
like clay  in  the  potter's  hands  be  plastic  to  its 
Maker's  touch  ! 

84 


A  potter's  vessel,  thatcamiot  he  made  whole  again. 

Jer.  xix.  ii. 

THESE  words  were  spoken  first  of  the  in- 
evitable judgments  which  were  to  befall  Jerusalen[i. 
She  who  had  been  a  chosen  vessel  was  now  to  be 
broken  beyond  repair. 

An  earthen  vessel  is  a  true  emblem  of  human 
life,  so  frail,  so  brittle.  But  there  is  something 
frailer  yet  in  our  resolutions  and  efforts  after 
holiness.  And  when  once  these  have  failed  us, 
w,e  can  never  be  again  what  we  were.  Always 
the  crack,  the  rivets,  the  mark  of  the  join. 

In  Gideon's  days  there  was  a  light  within  the 
earthen  vessels ;  and  when  these  were  broken  it 
shone  forth.  There  is,  therefore,  a  breaking  of 
the  vessel  which  is  salutary  and  desirable.  And 
it  is  of  this  that  Miss  Taylor  sings  : — 

"  Oh  to  be  nothing,  nothing ! 
Only  to  lie  at  His  feet, 
A  broken  and  emptied  vessel, 

For  the  Master's  use  made  meet." 

It  reminds  me  of  a  piece  of  pottery  I  saw  in 
the  mountain  burn,  which  was  in  the  water  and 
the  water  in  it.  If  there  be  in  any  one  of  us  a 
proud  and  evil  disposition,  a  masterful  self-will, 
which  frets  for  its  own  way  and  makes  itself 
strong  against  God,  then  indeed  we  may  ask  to 
be  so  broken  as  never  to  be  whole  again.  "  Take 
me — break  me — make  me,"  is  a  very  wholesome 
prayer  for  us  all. 

The  apostle  speaks  of  the  heavenly  treasure  in 
the  earthen  vessel.  How  wonderful  it  is  that 
God  should  put  so  much  of  His  spiritual  oint- 
ment into  such  common  and  ordinary  receptacles  ! 
No  one  detects  what  is  in  the  saints  till  they  are 
broken  by  sickness,  pain,  trouble ;  then  the 
house  is  filled  with  the  odor  of  the  ointment. 
85 


I  am  tveary  with  forbearing  and  cannot  contain. 

Jer.  XX.  9  (r.  v.). 

THE  prophet  had  looked  for  marvellous  re- 
sults from  his  preaching.  So  great  was  his  con- 
sciousness that  God's  word  was  on  his  lips,  and 
His  power  with  him,  that  he  expected  by  his 
ministry  to  arrest  the  decay  of  his  people.  And 
when,  instead  of  the  success  he  sought,  he  found 
himself  in  the  stocks,  he  was  tempted  to  feel  that 
God  had  excited  hopes  which  were  not  destined 
to  be  realized.  He  did  not  give  sufficient  weight 
to  man's  awful  power  of  resisting  and  neutraliz- 
ing God's  best  designs.  We  say  this  reverently, 
and  use  human  methods  of  speech. 

Yet,  on  the  other  hand,  as  he  reviewed  the 
steps  by  which  he  had  come  to  act  and  speak  as 
he  did,  he  felt  that  he  could  not  have  done 
differently.  And  though  he  were  suddenly  to 
repress  himself,  the  Divine  inward  impulse  would 
sweep  away  all  his  constraints,  and  assert  itself  in 
irresistible  might.  It  was  of  no  use  placing  the 
bushel  over  the  light,  for  the  light  would  burn 
the  bushel ;  useless  to  shut  in  the  fire,  for  the 
fire  would  burn  through  every  obstacle  to  its 
flames. 

What  a  glorious  state  of  heart  to  be  in  !  We 
have  sometimes  been  weary  in  God's  service;  but 
oh,  it  would  be  a  greater  weariness  if  we  were 
dismissed  from  it.  To  speak  is  an  awful  respon- 
sibility and  weight ;  but  not  to  speak  would  be 
impossible.  Have  you  the  burning  heart  ?  Do 
you  know  what  it  is  to  feel  unable  to  contain 
yourself,  since  the  love  of  Jesus  constrains?  If 
not,  daily  pray  that  God  may  light  a  burning  fire 
in  your  bones. 

«  O  God !  make  free 
This  barren,  shackled  earth,  so  deadly  cold ; 
Breathe  gently  forth  Thy  spring,  till  winter  flees 
In  rude  amazement !  " 

86 


Peradventure  the  Lord  will  deal  with  us  accord- 
ing to  all  His  wondrous  works. 

Jer.  xxi.  2  (r.  v.). 

IT  was  during  the  last  extremity  of  the  siege 
that  Zedekiah  sent  this  message  to  Jeremiah. 
His  people  and  he  had  postponed  their  compliance 
with  the  warnings  and  invitations  of  God's  love 
till  the  last  possible  hour,  and  now  they  were 
more  eager  for  immunity  from  the  consequences 
of  their  sins  than  to  repent  and  return  to  God. 
The  answer  was  immediate — that  matters  must 
now  be  allowed  to  take  their  course.  It  was, 
however,  added  that  even  now  all  who  dared  to 
act  in  faith  and  go  out  to  the  besiegers  would 
save  their  lives. 

What  a  test  of  faith  was  here  !  It  seemed  as 
though  it  were  worth  while  to  risk  everything  and 
stay  in  the  city  rather  than  venture  out  to  those 
terrible  hosts  that  were  gathered  around.  But 
there  was  no  alternative.  To  stay  in  the  city 
was  certain  death ;  to  go  forth  into  what  seemed 
certain  death  would  secure  life.  Men  may  reach 
a  certain  point  in  wrongdoing  when  the  disasters 
their  sins  have  courted  are  inevitable.  As  they 
have  sown,  they  must  reap.  They  have  set  the 
rocks  rolling,  and  they  must  see  the  devastation 
wrought  on  their  homes.  Yet,  even  then,  there 
is  a  way  of  escape. 

Still  God  pleads  with  men,  as  in  the  8th  verse  : 
"Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Behold  I  set  before  you 
the  way  of  life  and  the  way  of  death.  He  that 
abideth  in  this  city  shall  die  by  the  sword ;  he 
that  goeth  out  and  falleth  away  to  the  Chaldeans 
shall  live."  This  surely  is  the  exact  counterpart 
of  the  words  which  our  Lord  is  recorded  as  hav- 
ing spoken  on  four  different  occasions  :  **  He 
that  loveth  his  life  shall  lose  it ;  and  he  that 
loseth  his  life  for  My  sake,  the  same  shall  save 
it."  There  is  a  strange  reversal  of  human  im- 
aginations at  the  cross  of  Christ ! 
87 


Woe   unto  him   that   buildeth  his  house  by  un- 
righteousness. Jer.  xxii.  13. 

THIS  denunciation  was  probably  against  the 
king  himself.  But  it  has  a  much  fuller  reference. 
He  was  the  godless  son  of  a  godly  father,  whose 
character  is  sketched  in  three  particulars.  He 
judged  the  cause  of  the  poor  and  needy ;  it  was 
well  with  him ;  it  was  to  know  God.  But  the 
son  had  reversed  all  this.  He  built  his  palace 
of  unrighteousness,  his  chambers  of  covetous- 
ness ;  but  its  width  of  space  could  not  obliter- 
ate the  memory  of  the  forced  and  unpaid  labor 
by  which  it  had  been  reared.  And  God  would 
plead  and  avenge  the  cause  of  those  oppressed 
laborers. 

When  we  see  the  splendid  piles  of  business 
buildings  reared  by  monopolists  who  thrive  by 
making  existence  impossible  to  smaller  but  in- 
dustrious tradesmen ;  when  we  hear  of  the  vast 
fortunes  made  out  of  strong  drink;  or  the  ma- 
nipulation of  the  market  by  millionaires,  that  make 
honest  business  impossible — we  recur  to  these 
terrible  words.  God  still  arises  to  avenge  the 
cause  of  the  poor  and  needy.  There  is  a  God 
who  judges  in  the  earth. 

In  our  vast  cities  it  is  not  easy  to  trace  the  in- 
cidence of  the  Divine  displeasure  on  a  family  of 
wrongdoers.  Those  who  reside  in  our  villages 
and  country  towns,  and  have  long  memories, 
could  tell  of  many  corroborations  in  their  own 
knowledge.  But  there  is  another  side  to  this. 
God's  children  can  afford  to  be  generous  and 
openhanded  to  their  employes,  because  their 
Father  is  rich.  "He  is  able  to  make  all  grace 
abound  toward  us  .  .  .  that  we  may  abound." 
Let  us  maintain  His  honor,  and  His  family  name, 
by  fair  dealing.  They  who  know  God,  judge 
the  cause  of  the  poor  and  needy ;  and  for  those 
who  do  this  it  is  well  (ver.  16). 


If  they  had  stood  in  my  council.   .   .   . 

Jer.  xxiii.  22  (r.  v.). 

HERE  is  the  cause  of  so  much  failure  in 
Christian  work — God's  servants  do  not  stand  in 
God's  council.  The  previous  words  explain 
what  is  meant  by  not  standing  in  God's  council : 
**I  sent  not  these  prophets,  yet  they  ran;  I 
spake  not  unto  them,  yet  they  prophesied." 
Alas  !  these  words  write  our  own  sentence.  Too 
often  we  run  without  being  sent,  and  prophesy 
because  the  hour  has  struck,  rather  than  because 
the  message  of  God  has  been  given  !  We  do  not 
stand  in  God's  council. 

'*But  if  they  had  stood."  ...  We  gather, 
therefore,  that  the  stream  of  prophetic  teaching 
was  not  limited  to  Jeremiah  alone.  There  was 
no  necessary  exclusiveness  in  the  Divine  arrange- 
ments. He  was  chosen,  and  used  as  God's  agent 
and  medium,  because  he  stood  in  His  council. 
And  the  others  might  have  had  the  same  privi- 
lege if  they  had  conformed  to  the  same  condi- 
tions. 

Let  us  claim  the  positive  assurance  of  this 
promise.  We  see  where  we  have  fallen  short  of 
God's  ideal,  but  we  can  retrace  our  steps ;  we 
can  renounce  our  fussy  activities ;  refrain  from 
the  desire  to  be  always  to  the  front ;  and  wait 
more  absolutely  on  God  for  His  thoughts,  and 
words,  and  messages.  A  Christian  worker  once 
complained  to  George  Miiller  that  he  had  not 
time  enough  for  the  study  of  the  Word  and 
prayer;  and  the  veteran  saint  asked  in  reply, 
whether  an  hour's  less  work,  with  the  soul  dwell- 
ing in  the  full  light  of  God,  and  therefore  actu- 
ated by  His  impulses,  would  not  be  more  pros- 
perous and  effective  than  five  hours  spent  under 
the  perpetual  fever  of  our  own  will  and  way.  Be 
right  with  God,  and  the  people  shall  be  caused 
to  hear,  and  shall  be  turned. 
89 


And  they  shall  he  my  people ^  and  I  will  be  their 
God.  Jer.  xxiv.  7. 

AN  heart  to  know !  We  know  God  with  our 
heart,  the  seat  of  our  moral  life,  and  specially  of 
our  affections.  As  the  apostle  puts  it,  it  is  need- 
ful that  the  eyes  of  our  heart  should  be  opened 
that  we  should  know.  He  that  loveth  not, 
knoweth  not  God ;  for  God  is  love.  He  that 
loveth  knoweth  God,  and  is  known  of  Him.  If 
there  is  anything  unloving  in  your  nature,  it  will 
blur  your  knowledge  of  God,  as  condensed  breath 
on  a  window-pane  will  shut  out  the  fairest  land- 
scape. But  the  heart  which  knows  God  is  His 
dear  gift.  Be  willing  to  have  it ;  ask  for  it,  and 
it  shall  be  yours. 

The  special  aspect  in  which  we  are  led  to 
know  God  is  as  Jehovah — that  He  is  the  I  AM, 
the  unchanging,  ever-loving  one;  the  God  who 
comes  down  to  deliver  and  save.  This  is  the 
aspect  that  we  need  most.  When  overcome  with 
failure  and  sin  ;  when  thoroughly  discouraged 
with  abortive  efforts ;  when  overtaken  by  some 
sudden  gust  of  temptation — we  need  to  know 
that  our  sin  cannot  surprise  God,  or  staunch  His 
love,  or  wear  out  His  patience. 

But  what  a  word  is  this,  that  we  shall  be  His 
people  and  He  our  God  !  Oh,  infinite  God, 
how  canst  Thou  take  such  as  we  are — nay,  I  will 
not  speak  of  others,  but  of  myself — such  as  I 
am,  to  be  Thy  own  peculiar  treasure  !  I  dare 
not  look  back  on  my  past,  or  in  upon  my  heart, 
but  only  out  and  away  to  Thy  great  mercy ; 
for  I  am  most  weak  and  unworthy.  But  I  will 
forever  adore  Thee  for  choosing  me — not  be- 
cause of  aught  in  myself,  but  for  Thy  love  and 
mercy's  sake.  Moreover,  Thou  hast  given  me 
Thyself.  What  can  I  want  beside  Thee?  Thou 
art  the  strength  of  my  heart,  and  my  portion  for- 
ever. 

90 


Should  ye  he  utterly  unpunished  ? 

Jer.  XXV.  2g  (r.  v.). 

THIS  is  a  terrible  chapter,  in  which  the  disas- 
ters that  were  to  befall  all  the  surrounding  nations 
are  described  as  a  potion  presented  to  each  for 
drinking.  If  any  refuse,  the  answer  is  to  be  given 
in  the  words  before  us,  which  suggest  those  of 
Peter:  "The  time  is  come  that  judgment  must 
begin  at  the  house  of  God ;  and  if  it  first  begin 
at  us,  what  shall  the  end  be  of  them  that  obey 
not  the  Gospel  of  God?  "     (i  Peter  iv.  17). 

God  always  begins  with  His  own  people,  be- 
cause their  sins  traduce  His  character  and  bring 
it  into  contempt ;  and  because  sinners  might  other- 
wise establish  a  just  charge  of  favoritism  against 
Him.  Besides,  He  loves  them  so  dearly  that  He 
is  eager  to  see  them  rid,  as  soon  as  may  be,  from 
the  blight  and  parasitism  of  evil.  It  is  a  terrible 
thing  to  be  an  inconsistent  child  of  God;  for  just 
in  proportion  to  His  love  for  you  will  God  put 
forth  the  most  strenuous  and  unremitting  efforts  to 
bring  you  back  to  Himself.  This  thought  may  ar- 
rest you  when  you  are  being  led  into  sinful  ways. 
You  will  have  to  come  out  of  them,  sooner  or  later, 
if  you  are  truly  God's  child.  But  the  anguish  of 
your  extrication  will  be  in  proportion  to  the  sin- 
ful delight  of  your  self-indulgence. 

It  is  impossible  to  advance  in  the  divine  life 
without  dealing  with  the  successive  evils  which 
the  Spirit  of  God  reveals  to  us ;  and  it  is  only  as 
we  listen  to  His  voice  through  His  servants  and 
His  Word  that  we  can  know  them. 

But  if  the  righteous  be  scarcely  saved ,  where  shall 
the  ungodly  and  the  sinner  appear  ?  Even  though 
Babylon  had  done  God  service,  as  the  instrument 
of  His  chastisement  to  His  own  people  ;  yet,  be- 
cause in  performing  thus  she  had  grossly  sinned, 
she  must  drink  the  cup  of  His  wrath.  O  disobedi- 
ent and  ungodly  soul,  thou  mayest  serve  God's  pur- 
pose, yet  He  will  not  let  thee  be  unpunished.  Your 
condemnation  now  for  a  long  time  lingereth  not. 
91 


The  Lord  sent  me  to  prophesy.   .   .   .   Therefore 
amend  your  ways  and  your  doings. 

Jer.  xxvi.  12,  ij. 

NATURALLY,  Jeremiah  was  constituted  with 
a  very  nervous  and  sensitive  disposition.  He 
compares  himself  to  a  child  that  cannot  speak ; 
he  laments  that  he  had  been  born  into  such 
troublous  times.  But  at  the  moment  of  his  call 
it  was  distinctly  promised  that  he  should  be 
made  from  that  day  ^*a  defenced  city,  an  iron 
pillar,  and  brazen  walls,  .  .  .  against  the  kings, 
princes,  priests,  and  people  of  the  land." 
Though  they  should  fight  against  him,  they 
should  not  prevail  (Jer.  i.  18,  19). 

What  an  admirable  comment  on  that  promise 
is  presented  by  this  chapter  !  Here  is  this  timid 
man  standing  alone  for  God  against  this  surging 
multitude,  in  which  priest  and  people  are  merged. 
Though  his  life  is  in  the  balance,  and  it  might 
seem  necessary  to  purchase  it  by  absolute  silence, 
he  refuses  to  hold  his  peace ;  he  insists  that  God 
has  sent  him,  and  calls  on  the  maddened  crowd 
to  amend  their  ways  and  return  unto  Jehovah. 
Had  John  the  Baptist  spoken  thus,  or  John  Knox, 
we  had  not  been  surprised.  But  for  this  sensi- 
tive, retiring  man  to  speak  thus  is  due  to  the 
transforming  power  of  the  grace  of  God. 

There  is  hope  here  for  those  who  are  naturally 
reticent  and  backward,  reserved  and  timid.  Take 
your  nature  to  God,  and  ask  Him  to  encrust  it 
with  iron  and  brass.  Above  all,  seek  a  vivid 
realization  that  God  is  with  you.  Then  open 
your  mouth  and  speak.  Greater  is  He  that  is  in 
and  with  you,  than  he  that  is  in  the  world.  To 
have  a  conviction  that  God  has  sent ;  to  know 
and  feel  His  inspiration  thrilling  the  soul — is 
utterly  essential  to  strength  of  purpose  and  ac- 
tion. When  we  know  that  the  living  Father 
hath  sent  us,  and  is  with  us,  we  can  stand  as  a 
brazen  wall. 


The  nation  .   .   .  which  will  not  serve  the  king 
of  Babylon^  will  I  punish.  Jer.  xxvU.  8. 

IT  may  be  that,  like  the  people  of  Israel,  you 
have  grossly  sinned  and  violated  the  bonds  of 
holy  fellowship  and  relationship  with  God.  The 
result  of  this  not  improbably  has  been  some  form 
of  chastisement  and  disaster,  which  lies  heavily 
on  your  life.  This  is  what  the  invasion  of  the 
king  of  Babylon  was  to  Israel  and  the  surround- 
ing nations.  Now  learn  from  these  striking 
words  that  your  best  attitude  is  one  of  humble 
and  reverent  submission.  Put  your  neck  under 
the  yoke  of  the  king  of  Babylon.  When  Samuel 
told  Eli  the  inevitable  results  of  his  negligence  to 
correct  and  restrain  his  son,  the  old  man  said, 
*'  It  is  the  Lord  ;  let  Him  do  what  seemeth  Him 
good."  Through  the  infliction  of  his  troubles 
he  discerned  the  right-ordering  and  permissive 
providence  of  God. 

So  let  it  be  with  you.  Accept  the  deserved 
chastisement,  remembering  that  "  whom  the 
Lord  loveth  He  chasteneth,  and  scourgeth  every 
son  whom  He  receiveth."  Humble  yourself 
under  the  mighty  hand  of  God.  Look  beyond 
the  pride  and  cruelty  of  man  to  the  permissive 
providence  of  your  heavenly  Father.  Set  you- 
self  to  learn  and  take  well  to  heart  the  lessons  of 
the  present  discipline.  It  is  for  a  limited  period. 
Do  you  feel  that  men  meanwhile  are  going  be- 
yond their  rights?  Avenge  not  yourself;  give 
place  before  their  wrath ;  leave  the  matter  with 
God  ;  vengeance  is  His — He  will  recompense. 

**  To  confess  ignorance,"  says  a  great  preacher, 
"  to  confess  wrong,  to  admit  incapacity,  to  de- 
cline a  reputation  to  which  we  have  no  right — 
these  things,  and  others  of  the  same  kind,  are 
often  hard  and  painful,  but  they  are  always  of 
the  greatest  possible  value  in  bracing  the  char- 
acter." 

93 


Amen :   the  Lord  do  so :  the  Lord  perform  thy 
words.  .  .  .  Nevertheless.  Jer.  xxviii.  6,  j. 

THE  prophecy  of  Hananiah  of  the  speedy  re- 
turn of  the  exiles  and  the  break-up  of  the  power 
of  the  king  of  Babylon  was  evidently  dictated 
by  a  desire  to  win  popularity  with  the  people. 
He  spoke  in  the  name  of  Jehovah,  and  may  even 
have  supposed  that  his  message  was  divinely 
given  ;  but  his  soul  was  filled  with  human  voices 
and  reasonings,  which  made  him  unable  to  dis- 
tinguish the  still  small  voice  of  inspiration. 
Jeremiah  was  quite  as  anxious  as  he  was  that  his 
country  should  be  spared  further  suffering.  He 
uttered  a  fervent  Amen  to  Hananiah 's  predictions. 
Nothing  could  have  given  him  deeper  pleasure 
than  their  realization ;  but  standing  as  he  did  in 
the  counsels  of  God,  he  knew  it  could  not  be. 

So  is  it  still.  Men  who  follow  simply  their 
own  thoughts,  or  are  deeply  dyed  with  the  spirit 
of  society  around,  are  apt  to  prophesy  smooth 
things  to  such  as  live  selfish  and  worldly  lives. 
"  There  is  no  such  place  as  the  outer  darkness  ; 
ro  such  experience  as  the  second  death."  So 
they  speak.  But  we  know  it  cannot  be.  Ear- 
nestly as  we  might  wish  for  it,  and  say  Amen, 
we  know,  nevertheless,  that  it  cannot  be  im- 
material how  men  live,  and  that  wickedness  must 
bring  infinite  anguish  and  pain.  How  terrible 
will  their  position  be  at  last,  who  cried  Peace, 
Peace,  when  there  was  none,  and  encouraged  re- 
bellion against  the  Lord. 

There  are  false  prophets  still  who  encourage 
men  in  their  evil  ways,  as  they  paint  roseate 
views  of  the  future,  and  encourage  them  to  be- 
lieve that  though  they  sin,  the  future  will  not  be 
so  dark  as  they  have  been  led  to  fear.  Hard  as 
it  will  be  for  all  who  perish  out  of  Christ,  for 
these  there  will  be  an  additional  anguish.  See 
Matt.  v.  19. 

94 


Seek  the  peace  of  the  city,  whither  I  have  caused 
you  to  be  carried  away  captives.        Jer.  xxix.  y. 

FOR  seventy  years  the  captives  must  make 
themselves  at  home  and  happy  in  Babylon.  It 
was  of  no  use  to  scheme  and  plot  a  speedier  re- 
turn. They  must  work  out  the  predicted  seventy 
years ;  and  in  the  meanwhile  let  them  seek  the 
peace  of  the  great  heathen  city  to  which  they 
had  been  borne,  and  pray,  not  only  for  Jerusalem, 
but  for  it. 

How  many  who  read  these  lines  are  captives  in 
positions  against  their  will  and  choice.  Servants 
and  governesses  in  worldly  homes;  apprentices 
and  clerks  amid  uncongenial  associates;  travellers 
in  distant  towns  and  commercial  hotels ;  people 
in  all  kinds  of  positions  in  which  they  would  not 
choose  to  be. 

The  natural  tendency  of  all  such  is  to  fret,  and 
begin  endeavoring  to  secure  their  emancipation 
and  removal.  '  *  Let  me  get  away  from  this  as 
soon  as  possible."  Or,  at  least,  if  unable  to  get 
free,  they  take  as  little  interest  as  possible  in  their 
immediate  associates,  making  themselves  cold, 
and  stiff,  and  inaccessible.  This  is  not  God's 
way.  Wherever  you  find  yourself,  seek  the  peace 
and  comfort  of  those  about  you.  Jesus  bade  us 
salute  those  who  do  not  salute  us,  and  lift  our 
voices  in  intercessory  prayer  for  our  oppressors 
and  persecutors. 

God  had  a  special  purpose  in  allowing  the 
captivity  of  His  people  into  Babylon.  It  was  to 
scatter  synagogues  and  the  Old  Testament,  in 
preparation  for  the  Gospel.  The  transportation 
of  Stundists  to  Siberia  will  affect  the  religions  life 
of  that  great  tract  for  all  the  future.  You  are 
carried  into  captivity  to  bring  the  Gospel  to  many 
who  would  otherwise  never  hear  of  it.  Wherever 
God  shall  open  the  door,  leave  behind  the  bright 
and  genial  impression  of  a  holy,  loving  person- 
ality. 

96 


But  I  will  not  make  a  ftill  e?id  of  thee. 

Jer.  XXX.  I J  (r.  v.). 

THERE  is  a  great  difference  between  the 
punishment  of  the  ungodly  and  the  chastisement 
of  God's  children.  In  the  former  case  there  is 
destruction.  The  sirocco  passed  over  the  grass, 
and  there  is  nought  left  but  burned  and  withered 
stubble.  In  the  latter  case  there  will  be  restora- 
tion and  an  aftermath. 

Are  you  just  now  passing  through  a  season  of 
chastisement  and  pain?  Take  to  heart  tliese  ten- 
der words  :  God  will  not  make  a  full  end  of  you. 
It  may  seem  as  though  nothing  will  be  left :  the 
furnace  is  so  hot ;  the  stock  is  cut  down  so  near 
to  the  ground.  But  God  knows  just  how  much 
you  can  bear,  and  will  stay  His  hand.  "  I  will 
not  make  a  full  end  of  thee." 

He  will  correct  us  with  judgment.  There  i3 
need  for  Him  to  correct  us ;  so  much  requires 
pruning  away,  and  refining.  But  if  He  were  not 
to  exercise  great  judgment,  the  soul  would  fail 
before  Him.  This  is  why  we  are  told  that  the 
Father  is  the  Husbandman.  To  no  other  hand 
could  He  entrust  this  delicate  and  sacred  work  : 
and  while  His  eye  and  hand  are  full  of  eagerness 
to  accomplish  His  purpose,  they  always  move  at 
Ihe  dictate  of  His  judgment.  His  hand  is  always 
on  our  pulse. 

Chastening  also  anticipates  a  blessed  restora- 
tion. This  chapter  has  many  tender  gleams  of 
hope  in  it.  **  I  will  restore  health  unto  thee,  and 
I  will  heal  thee  of  thy  wounds,  saith  the  Lord." 
*'  I  will  turn  again  the  captivity  of  Jacob's  tents, 
and  have  compassion  on  his  dwelling-places." 
Look  forward,  poor  suffering  one  !  Beyond  the 
dark  clouds  light  is  shining  on  the  hills.  When 
the  discipline  is  over  the  Lord  will  take  you  to 
His  care,  wash  your  stripes,  restore  comforts  to 
you,  and  give  harvests  of  joy. 
96 


I  have  loved  thee  with  an  everlasting  love. 

Jer.  xxxi,  j, 

WE  who  by  faith  are  the  children  of  Abraham 
may  claim  and  muse  upon  these  sweet  and  tender 
words. 

God's  love  to  us  is  not  of  to-day  or  yesterday. 
It  did  not  originate  in  any  movement  of  our 
heart  toward  Himself,  or  even  on  that  day  of 
days  when  Jesus  died.  You  must  go  back  be- 
yond your  birth,  beyond  Calvary  and  Bethlehem, 
beyond  the  fall  of  man  and  the  Garden  of  Eden, 
and  as  you  stand  looking  out  into  the  immensity 
of  eternity,  dare  to  believe  that  you  were  loved 
and  chosen  in  Christ,  the  object  of  God's  most 
tender  solicitude  and  pity. 

Does  the  thought  overpower  you  ?  Notice  the 
Divine  asseveration.  Yea,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
about  it.  Beyond  this  Divine  asseveration  it  is 
impossible  for  us  to  go.  By  word  and  oath  God, 
who  cannot  lie,  has  given  us  strong  assurance  that 
it  is  even  so. 

But  now  see  what  comes  out  of  this  long,  long 
love.  God  must  have  known  the  worst  about  us 
before  He  set  His  love  on  us  ;  then  He  cannot  be 
surprised  as,  in  the  work  of  education,  He  comes 
across  evils  that  horrify  and  dismay  us.  He 
knew  all  this,  and  worse.  Only  let  that  love 
have  its  way.  It  is  a  universal  and  invincible 
solvent.  It  will  yet  rid  you  bit  by  bit  of  these 
hard  and  evil  elements.  The  very  rocks  shall 
flow  down  at  His  presence. 

The  R.  V.  marginal  reading  gives  a  further 
thought.  The  fountains  of  God's  love  rise  in 
eternity,  and  therefore  cannot  be  exhausted  by 
the  demands  of  time.  He  will  continue  His 
loving-kindness.  Resisted,  disappointed,  disre- 
garded. His  compassions  will  not  fail  until  they 
have  overcome  and  expelled  our  selfishness,  and 
filled  us  with  the  love  of  God. 
97 


/  bought  the  field. 

Jer.  xxxii.  g. 

WHAT  could  better  manifest  the  heroic  audac- 
ity of  faith?  The  Chaldeans  infested  the  land, 
and  Jeremiah  knew  by  the  word  of  the  Lord  that 
they  were  destined  to  hold  both  it  and  the  city. 
And  yet  at  the  Divine  command  he  bought  a 
piece  of  land  which  was  in  possession  of  the  foe, 
with  as  much  formality  as  though  he  were  at  once 
to  enter  upon  its  possession. 

He  obeyed  the  Divine  command,  and  then 
poured  out  his  soul  in  prayer;  nourishing  his 
faith  by  the  contemplation  of  the  might  of  God 
in  creation,  for  which  nothing  was  too  hard. 
Surely  if  God  could  make  the  heavens  and  the 
earth  by  His  great  power  and  by  His  stretched- 
out  arm.  He  could  easily  bring  it  to  pass  that  the 
Chaldeans  should  recede  from  the  land,  Israel 
again  inhabit  it,  and  the  purchase  and  tenure  of 
property  be  unhindered.  Faith  made  the  unseen 
visible,  and  the  distant  near;  and  enabled  the 
prophet  to  take  them  into  his  calculations,  and 
regulate  his  action  in  view  of  them.  Herein  the 
man  of  faith  differs  from  others.  They  base 
their  calculations  and  actions  upon  certain  facts 
and  considerations  which  are  within  view  of  their 
senses;  while  he  takes  into  his  estimate  a  num- 
ber of  other  facts  and  considerations  of  which 
they  have  no  knowledge,  and  which  can  only 
be  recognized  through  the  revelation  of  God's 
Spirit. 

As  that  land  was  purchased,  though  still  in  the 
enemy's  possession — so  Israel  is  God's  possession, 
though  under  the  bondage  of  unbelief;  so  the 
bodies  of  God's  saints  are  His  purchased  posses- 
sion, though  now  under  the  reign  of  corruption  ; 
so  does  this  world  belong  to  Christ.  O  man  of 
faith,  count  on  these  things  as  facts. 
98 


Call  unto  Me^  and  I  will  answer  thee. 

Jer.  xxxiii.  j. 

WE  must  learn  the  sacred  art  of  prayer.  God 
says,  ''Call  unto  Me."  He  likes  us  to  address 
Him  in  prayer.  We  may  surely  believe  that  He 
will  do  the  best,  but  this  may  degenerate  into  a 
subtle  excuse  for  lethargy  ;  and  therefore  we  must 
be  stirred  by  the  invitation  to  call  upon  Him. 
There  is  no  assurance  that  He  will  show  us  these 
great  and  difficult  things,  unless  we  obey  the  in- 
junction of  our  text  to  call  on  Him.  But  be  sure 
and  wait  before  Him  until  He  teaches  you  what 
to  pray  for.  The  prayer  which  is  born  of  God 
rises  to  God  from  whom  it  came  with  the  cer- 
tainty of  an  answer. 

God  seeks  intercessors. — He  longs  to  dispense 
larger  blessings.  He  longs  to  reveal  His  power 
and  glory  as  God,  His  saving  grace,  His  comfort 
and  peace.  But  He  is  limited  by  the  smallness 
and  fewness  of  our  prayers.  He  cannot  do  what 
He  would  for  the  Church  in  the  world,  because 
of  our  unbelief.  He  cries  to  us,  Call  unto  Me, 
call  unto  Me.  Little  prayer,  little  blessing  ;  more 
prayer,  more  blessing  ;  much  prayer,  much  bless- 
ing. 

But  what  a  promise  is  here  !  We  long  to  see 
great  things  done  for  God  in  our  churches  and 
mission  halls,  in  the  hearts  and  lives  of  our  friends. 
We  long  to  see  the  difficult  things  unknotted,  so 
that  the  crooked  may  be  made  straight,  and  the 
rough  smooth.  But  all  these  things  shall  be.  The 
impossibilities  of  your  life  are  possible  to  God. 
The  mysteries  of  your  life  can  yield  their  secrets 
at  the  summons  of  God.  The  iron  gates  shall 
open,  the  sea  divide,  the  sepulchres  yield  their 
dead.  Only  get  right  with  God ;  only  let  God 
have  unhindered  way  through  your  life ;  only 
dare  to  believe  that  you  have  already  obtained 
your  petition,  and  go  forward  in  faith. 
99 


The  words  of  the  covenant  which  they  made  be- 
fore Me.  Jer.  xxxiv.  i8. 

THESE  are  suggested,  borrowed  from  an  old 
sainf  s  memoirs,  as  suitable  words  for  a  covenant 
before  God,  My  Jesus, — I  own  myself  to  be 
Thine,  my  only  Saviour  and  Bridegroom,  Christ 
Jesus.  I  am  Thine,  wholly  and  eternally.  I  re- 
nounce from  my  heart  all  right  and  authority  that 
Satan  unrighteously  gave  me  over  myself,  from 
this  day  henceforward. 

From  this  sacred  hour,  remembering  how  Thou 
through  Thy  precious  blood  didst  purchase  me 
for  Thyself,  agonizing  even  unto  death,  and 
praying  till  Thy  blood  fell  as  sweat  to  the 
ground,  I  desire  that  I  may  be  Thy  treasure  and 
Thy  bride. 

From  now  and  onward,  I  offer  to  Thee  my 
heart  and  my  love,  my  intellect  and  my  thoughts, 
my  choice  and  my  purpose,  my  spirit,  soul,  and 
body,  to  be  absolutely  at  Thy  disposal. 

Let  Thy  will  henceforth  be  done  in  me.  Com- 
mand, rule,  and  reign  in  me.  I  yield  myself  up 
without  reserve ;  and  I  desire,  with  Thy  help  and 
power,  rather  to  give  up  the  last  drop  of  this  my 
blood,  than  knowingly  and  willingly,  in  my  heart 
or  life,  to  be  untrue  and  disobedient  to  Thee.  Be- 
hold Thou  hast  me  wholly  and  completely,  sweet 
Friend  of  my  soul.  Thy  Spirit  be  my  keeper ; 
Thy  death  my  assurance  of  salvation ;  Thy  life 
my  inspiration. 

I  desire  to  hold  my  friendships,  my  posses- 
sions, my  gifts  and  talents  at  Thy  disposal,  ac- 
counting them  Thy  gift  to  help  me  fulfill  my  life- 
course  with  better  success.  Accept  me  and  them, 
and  show  how  best  all  may  be  used  in  Thee  and 
for  Thee.  Enable  me  by  Thy  Holy  Spirit  to  be 
true  to  this  holy  covenant  while  life  shall  last ; 
and  may  I  be  presented  at  last,  faultless,  in  Thy 
presence,  with  exceeding  joy. 
100 


Jonadab^  the  son  of  Rechab^  shall  not  want  a 
man  to  stand  before  Me  forever.      Jer.  xxxv.  jg. 

THE  point  here  is  the  contrast  between  the 
strict  obedience  of  the  Rechabites  to  the  direc- 
tions of  their  ancestors,  and  the  disobedience  of 
Israel  to  Jehovah.  How  often  is  this  contrast 
repeated  still !  We  find  men  so  eager  and  de- 
voted to  the  customs  and  traditions  of  their  fam- 
ilies, and  so  regardless  of  the  yet  higher  claims 
of  God.  It  is  very  wonderful !  We  should  have 
thought  that  the  temper  of  mind  which  bound 
men  to  their  family  traditions  would  have  secured 
their  allegiance  to  the  Almighty.  But  it  is  not 
so,  as  daily  experience  proves. 

Let  us  also  notice  the  obvious  inference  from 
this  chapter.  If,  because  of  their  obedience  to 
the  regulations  of  Jonadab,  the  Rechabites  should 
never  want  a  man  to  stand  before  God,  how 
much  more  will  obedience  to  the  promptings  of 
God's  Spirit  secure,  through  His  mercy,  a  per- 
petual standing  before  His  face ;  not  only  of  our- 
selves, but  of  our  children.  Christian  parents, 
you  have  a  perfect  right  to  go  to  God  with  this 
fair  deduction  from  His  own  words,  and  say : 
Give  us  grace  to  obey  Thy  commandments,  and 
keep  all  Thy  precepts ;  and  do  according  to  all 
that  Thou  commandest ;  and  then  grant  to  us  to 
stand  before  Thee  forevermore  in  Thy  presence- 
chamber  ;  and  not  us  only,  but  our  children  and 
children's  children.  Let  them  be  a  godly  seed 
on  earth,  ever  maintaining  sweet  recollections  of 
our  character  and  life ;  and  let  us  be  a  united 
family  in  the  presence  of  Thy  glory  with  exceed- 
ing joy.  How  blessed  that  man  is  who,  like 
Elijah,  stands  before  God  ! 

«  Jesus  protects :  my  fears,  be  gone  ! 
What  can  the  Rock  of  Ages  move  ? 
Safe  in  Thy  arms  I  lay  me  down, 
Thy  everlasting  arms  of  love." 

101 


The  king  cut  it  with  a  pe7iknife,  and  cast  it  into 
the  fire.  Jer.  xxxvi.  23  (r.  v.). 

IT  was  an  audacious  and  foolish  act.  Only  a 
fool  or  a  madman  could  have  trifled  thus.  He 
did  not  relish  the  prophet's  words,  and  so  he  cut 
them  to  pieces ;  but  though  he  destroyed  them, 
he  could  not  in  this  way  arrest  the  penalties 
which  they  foretold.  Indeed,  he  increased 
them:  *' There  were  added  besides  unto  them 
many  like  words."  The  criminal  may  tear  up 
the  warrant  for  his  arrest;  but  it  will  not  help 
his  case.  The  captain  may  destroy  the  map 
which  indicates  the  rocks  in  his  course ;  but 
that  will  not  rob  them  of  the  cruel  fangs  with 
which  they  will  pierce  the  timbers  of  his  ship. 
Men  may  deride  and  destroy  the  Bible ;  but  this 
will  not  empty  the  future  of  hell,  or  hell  of  its 
bitter  remorse. 

We  are  all  tempted  to  use  the  penknife  to 
God's  Book.  There  are  passages  in  it  which  we 
do  not  like ;  those  that  cross  our  favorite  notions, 
our  cherished  sins.  Practically,  we  eliminate 
them.  We  never  read  them,  or  we  explain 
them  away,  or  profess  to  doubt  their  inspira- 
tion. We  have  no  right  to  set  certain  passages 
of  Scripture  aside  because  they  conflict  with  our 
notions  of  truth  or  system  of  theology.  The 
scientific  man  will  not  adopt  a  law  while  one 
fact  refuses  to  be  included  in  it.  The  commer- 
cial man  will  not  close  his  books  while  a  shilling 
is  unaccounted  for.  Blessed  as  the  habit  is  of 
listening  for  God's  voice  within,  we  must  never 
forget  the  absolute  necessity  of  its  corroboration 
from  the  words  of  Scripture. 

It  is  wise,  therefore,  to  read  the  Scriptures 
with  an  open  and  unbiassed  mind,  not  bringing 
our  preconceptions,  like  penknives,  to  cut  out 
what  we  do  not  agree  with,  but  meekly  inquiring 
what  it  may  please  the  Lord  our  God  to  speak. 
102 


They  gave  him  daily  a  loaf  of  bread  out  of  the 
bakers'  street.  Jer.  xxxvii.  ^/  (r.  v.). 

THIS  was  God's  way  of  caring  for  His  child. 
His  life  was  secured  to  him  from  the  hatred  of 
his  foes,  and  his  daily  bread,  as  long  as  there 
was  any  to  be  had.  If  you  do  God's  work,  you 
may  freely  count  on  Him.  He  will  not  fail.  In 
the  most  unlikely  ways  your  bread  shall  be  given 
you,  and  your  water  shall  be  sure. 

But  it  may  be  objected  that  it  is  not  always  so, 
and  that  many  of  God's  children  are  at  this  very 
hour  suffering  the  need  of  many  things  which  are 
absolutely  necessary.  But,  first,  we  should  have 
to  decide  what  is  really  necessary.  We  might 
all  be  deprived  of  many  of  the  comforts  and  lux- 
uries of  hfe  without  detriment.  Indeed,  it  might 
be  better  for  all  of  us  to  undergo  something  of 
the  weaning  and  detaching  process.  But  Matt, 
vi.  32,  33  is  always  true. 

And,  moreover,  we  should  have  to  inquire 
whether  faith  had  been  exercised  to  seek  and 
obtain  their  contents.  We  have  God's  prom- 
ises; but  we  too  often  fail  to  plead  them.  We 
know  that  we  can  only  receive  the  benefits  of 
Christ's  Redemption  by  faith ;  but  we  do  not 
see  that  the  same  faith  is  requisite  to  bring  into 
our  hands  those  other  boons  which  are  included 
in  God's  guarantees  to  His  children.  You  have 
not,  child  of  God,  either  because  you  ask  for 
things  that  would  minister  simply  to  appetite  and 
sense ;  or  because  you  do  not  exercise  the  child's 
privilege  of  prayer.  Perhaps  your  present  priva- 
tion is  intended  to  teach  you  the  blessedness  of 
prayer.  Ask  and  receive,  that  your  joy  may  be 
full. 

"Can  it  be  true,  the  grace  He  is  declaring? 

Oh,  let  us  trust  Him,  for  His  words  are  fair! 

Man,  what  is  this,  and  why  art  thou  despairing  ? 

God  shall  forgive  thee  all  but  thy  despair." 

103 


Obey.   .   .  .  So  it  shall  be  well  with  thee^  and 
thy  soul  shall  live.  Jer,  xxxviii.  20  (r.  v.). 

OF  many  Christians  it  can  hardly  be  said  that 
their  souls  live ;  they  exist,  but  do  not  thrive. 
The  food  of  the  soul  is  in  part  the  Word  of  God  ; 
but  in  part  it  is  obedience.  As  we  obey  we  are 
fed ;  for  our  Master  said,  ''  My  meat  is  to  do  the 
will  of  Him  that  sent  Me,  and  to  finish  His 
work  "  (John  iv.  34).  The  same  truth  is  sug- 
gested here ;  if  we  obey  the  voice  of  the  Lord,  it 
is  well  with  us,  and  our  soul  thrives. 

The  voice  of  God  speaks  from  the  page  of  His 
Word.  Let  us  not  accept  that  to  be  His  voice 
which  does  not  come  to  us  through  Scripture,  or 
is  not  corroborated  by  Scripture.  But  let  us  be 
very  careful  to  obey  God's  Word,  so  far  as  we 
know  it,  even  when,  as  in  Zedekiah's  case,  it 
seems  to  contradict  all  the  suggestions  of  pru- 
dence and  common-sense.  Better  be  with  God 
in  a  minority  of  one,  than  have  the  plaudits  of 
an  immense  host  of  godless  men. 

How  well  I  remember,  years  ago  now,  enter- 
ing the  bed-chamber  of  an  eminent  saint,  one 
autumn  morning,  whose  diminishing  candles  told 
how  long  he  had  been  feeding  on  the  Word  of 
God.  I  asked  him  what  had  been  the  subject  of 
his  study.  He  said  he  had  been  engaged  since 
four  o'clock  in  discovering  all  the  Lord's  positive 
commandments,  that  he  might  be  sure  that  he 
was  not  wittingly  neglecting  any  one  of  them. 
It  is  very  sad  to  find  how  many  in  the  present 
day  are  neglecting  to  observe  to  do  the  Lord's 
precepts — concerning  His  ordinances,  concern- 
ing the  laying-up  of  money,  the  evangelization  of 
the  world,  and  the  manifestation  of  perfect  love. 
They  know  the  Lord's  will,  and  do  it  not.  They 
appear  to  think  that  they  are  absolved  from  that 
"observing  to  do,"  which  was  so  characteristic 
of  Deuteronomy.  As  though  Love  were  not 
more  inexorable  than  Law  ! 
104 


Because  thou  hast  put  thy  trust  in  Me. 

Jer.  xxxix.  i8. 

WHAT  will  not  trust  do?  It  will  draw  out  of 
God  for  us  the  most  wonderful  exhibitions  of  His 
tender  and  mighty  provision  on  our  behalf. 
Who  can  put  a  limit  on  what  God  will  do  for  the 
man  who  trusts  Him  ?  Here  was  the  whole  city 
given  up  to  bloodshed  and  fire.  The  utmost  con- 
fusion prevailed.  No  quarter  was  shown  to  the 
hapless  Jews,  pursued  from  house  to  house,  from 
street  to  street,  by  the  brutal  soldiery.  Yet  be- 
cause Ebed-melech  trusted  in  God,  and  because 
he  evidenced  his  faith  by  his  loving  care  for  the 
prophet,  he  was  not  given  into  the  hand  of  the 
men  of  whom  he  was  afraid. 

Some  who  read  these  words  may  be  greatly 
afraid.  They  dwell  among  lions,  among  men 
whose  words  are  a  sharp  sword.  But  let  them 
trust  in  the  living  God ;  and,  in  the  meanwhile, 
go  on  each  day  ministering  as  well  as  they  can  to 
God's  Jeremiahs.  It  is  not  enough  to  let  down 
ropes  to  help  them ;  it  is  a  great  sign  of  the  love 
of  God  to  put  some  rags  to  keep  the  ropes  from 
chafing  the  tender  skin.  When  God  comes  to 
help  us.  He  always  combines  the  strong  rope 
with  the  old  clout.  Let  us  resemble  Him  in 
this. 

Let  us  trust  Him  more.  Too  many  resemble 
the  stone-breaker  who  came  into  a  vast  estate,  but 
was  content  to  live  in  the  lodge.  When  an  old 
friend  came  to  congratulate  him,  and  see  over  the 
property,  he  said  :  "  There  !  It  is  all  in  those 
parchments ;  but  I  have  never  been  to  see  for  my- 
self what  there  is."  Let  us  possess  our  posses- 
sions, and  learn  how  much  God  will  do  for  those 
who  trust  Him. 

"  Oh,  could  I  tell,  ye  surely  would  believe  it ! 
Oh,  could  I  only  say  what  I  have  seen ! 
How  should  I  tell,  or  how  can  ye  receive  it — 
How,  till  He  bringeth  you  where  I  have  been  ?  " 

105 


The  captain  of  the  guard  gave  him  victuals ,  and 
a  present,  and  let  him  go.  Jer.  xl  j  (r.  v.). 

THIS  captain  seems  to  have  had  a  remarkable 
insight  into  God's  deahngs  with  Israel.  Inverse 
3  he  speaks  quite  prophetically ;  and  in  this 
treatment  of  the  prophet  he  gives  every  sign  of 
having  been  admitted  into  the  secret  councils  of 
the  Most  High.  He  is  a  comrade  of  the  cen- 
turions of  the  New  Testament. 

But  the  interesting  matter  is  the  care  exercised 
by  God  over  His  servant.  During  the  siege  his 
bread  had  been  given  him,  and  his  water  had 
been  sure.  And  now,  in  spite  of  all  the  plottings 
and  devisings  against  his  life,  he  was  the  one  man 
of  Israel  who  was  treated  with  respect  and  pro- 
vided with  an  honorable  maintenance. 

God  is  able  to  supply  the  need  of  His  servants 
in  very  remarkable  ways;  now  through  ravens, 
or  a  widow,  and  again  through  a  captain  of 
Nebuchadnezzar's  guard.  If  we  will  be  all  for 
God,  God  will  be  all  for  us.  In  the  present  in- 
stance the  men  who  were  so  eager  to  save  them- 
selves perished  in  the  capture  of  the  city ;  whilst 
the  one  man  who  sought  to  do  God's  will,  with  a 
single  purpose,  not  only  saved  his  life,  but  found 
all  things  else  added  to  him. 

God  would  have  us  live  free  from  care.  He 
made  the  spirit,  and  will  see  that  it  gets  its  al- 
lowance of  sustenance.  He  made  the  soul,  and 
knows  how  much  love  and  culture  it  requires. 
He  made  the  body,  and  will  provide  for  its  food 
and  clothing.  Do  not  fear  the  rough  servants 
whom  He  employs  as  the  distributors  of  His  gifts. 
Under  the  mailed  armor  a  warm  heart  is 
beating. 

"  Give  me  to  trust  Thee,  Lord, 
In  the  dark  and  stormy  night, 
When  morning  seems  so  slow  to  come, 
And  the  stars  are  hid  from  sight." 

lOG 


The7i   arose   Ishmael  .  .  .  and  smote   Gedaliah 
.   .   .  with  the  sword.  Jer.  xli.  2. 

THIS  chapter  is  full  of  horrible  atrocities. 
Blow  on  blow  befell  the  already  decimated  rem- 
nant of  Jews.  Had  it  not  been  for  Ishmael's 
ruthless  vandalism,  the  vine  of  Israel  might  yet 
have  struck  her  roots  downward  and  borne  fruit 
upward. 

We  must  ask  for  more  of  that  profound  faith 
which,  through  all  blinding  mystery,  sees  the 
Divine  purpose,  weaving  events  and  men  into  its 
plans,  and  compelling  all  to  work  together  for 
the  discipline  or  aid  of  His  children.  *' Praise 
the  Lord  from  the  earth,  ye  dragons,  and  all 
deeps  ;  fire,  and  hail;  snow,  and  vapors;  stormy 
wind  fulfilling  His  word."  "  Surely  the  wrath  of 
man  shall  praise  Thee  ;  the  remainder  of  wrath 
shalt  Thou  restrain"  (Psalms  cxlviii.  7,  8; 
Ixxvi.  10). 

What  a  comfort  it  is  to  know  that  all  things  in 
heaven,  earth,  and  hell ;  all  demons  and  men  ; 
all  Nebuchadnezzars  and  Ishmaels — are  under  the 
control  of  our  heavenly  Father  !  They  may  hate 
us  with  all  the  power  of  their  evil  natures,  but 
they  cannot  hurt  us  beyond  His  permission;  and 
as  soon  as  they  have  fulfilled  what  He  deemed 
necessary,  they  will  be  withdrawn.  There  are  no 
second  causes  for  us.  We  are  always  dealing 
first-hand  with  God,  though  He  may  employ 
many  strange  servants  to  bring  us  His  messages. 

"  A  God-inspired  Expectation,  a  Holy  Pa- 
tience, has  always  been  the  mark  of  a  true 
believer,  at  the  most  critical  periods  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  Church  and  of  the  individual.  She 
first  made  hope  vocal  in  the  soul  of  Isaiah ; 
fasted  and  prayed  with  Anna  in  her  long  widow- 
hood ;  was  at  the  cross  with  the  mother  ;  at  the 
grave  with  the  Magdalene ;  and  hired  the  room 
for  Pentecost." 

107 


We  will  obey  the  voice  of  the  Lord  our  God,  to 
whom  we  send  thee.  Jer.  xlU.  6. 

WHILST  the  people  said  this  with  their  lips, 
they  had  already  set  their  faces  to  go  into  the 
land  of  Egypt  (vers.  15,  17).  It  is  useless  to 
profess  our  desire  to  know  God's  will,  whilst  in 
our  secret  heart  we  are  determined  to  follow  a 
certain  course,  come  what  may.  Indeed  it  is 
worse  than  useless;  it  is  blasphemous.  How 
often  do  believers  ask  for  prayer  that  their  course 
may  be  made  clear,  when  in  point  of  fact  they 
have  already  decided  on  it,  and  are  secretly  hop- 
ing to  turn  God  to  their  own  side ! 

But  what  a  solemn  responsibility  devolves  on 
those  who  are  sent  to  and  fro  between  God  and 
man,  as  Jeremiah  was.  He  realized  that  he  was 
sent  by  the  people  unto  the  Lord,  and  that  he 
was  sent  back  again  by  the  Lord  unto  the  people 
(ver.  21).  He  knew,  too  that  their  faces  were 
set  on  having  their  own  evil  way.  But  he  never 
flinched  from  declaring  the  will  of  God,  nor 
turned  to  the  right  or  left,  to  curry  favor  from 
man.  By  nature  very  timid  and  sensitive,  see 
how  God  made  him  a  defenced  city,  an  iron  pil- 
lar, and  brazen  walls.  Verily  he  stood  in  God's 
council,  and  caused  the  people  to  hear  his  words. 
What  a  contrast  to  the  false  prophets  of  ch. 
xxiii.  ! 

Compare  this  statement  concerning  Gerhard 
Tersteegen  :  **  His  service  was  always  marked 
by  a  diffident  and  retiring  spirit,  though  ever  by 
a  courageous  valor  for  the  truth.  It  is  recorded 
that  on  one  occasion,  in  going  with  a  friend  to  a 
meeting  where  he  was  expected  to  give  an  address, 
he  said,  '  I  would  rather  hide  myself  from  all 
the  world  than  let  myself  be  seen  and  heard.' 
But  he  never  swerved  a  hair's-breadth  when  the 
honor  of  God  and  the  testimony  of  the  truth  was 
concerned." 

108 


Baruch  the  son  of  Neriah  setteth  thee  on  against 
us.  Jer.xliii.j. 

WHEN  men  do  not  like  the  Word  of  God, 
they  imagine  that  some  one  has  set  the  speaker 
on  against  them.  A  poor  woman  came  to  us  a 
few  weeks  ago,  in  a  terrible  condition.  She  had 
induced  her  husband  to  come  to  a  service,  and 
the  address  seemed  so  exactly  adapted  to  him, 
dealing  with  his  sins  in  the  plainest  terms,  that . 
nothing  could  convince  him  that  she  had  not 
given  the  preacher  a  full  and  detailed  account 
of  his  life,  and  had  set  the  speaker  on  against 
him.  When  they  got  home  he  ill-treated  her 
with  great  cruelty.  But  that  service  and  her  pa- 
tient suffering  were  ultimately  overruled  to  work 
a  great  change  in  him. 

How  strange  it  is  that  ungodly  men  always 
think  the  Word  of  God  is  against  them,  whereas 
they  are  set  against  it !  The  wind  would  not  be 
so  keen  in  their  teeth,  if  they  were  not  steaming 
so  quickly  against  it. 

But  there  is  a  solemn  lesson  here  for  us  all. 
Whenever  the  Word  of  God  makes  us  wince,  or 
God's  messenger  presses  sorely  on  us,  we  are  apt 
to  turn  aside  the  point  by  some  superficial  and 
unreasonable  excuse.  We  catch  up  the  first  foil 
we  can  lay  hands  on,  in  order  to  ward  off  the 
missile.  We  find  some  excuse  to  blunt  the  edge 
of  the  sword.  It  is  easy  to  impute  a  bad  and 
personal  motive.  There  is  always  a  Baruch  the 
son  of  Neriah  in  the  question.  It  is  not  we  who 
are  wrong,  but  the  prophet  who  is  prejudiced 
against  us.  As  Ahab  said  of  Micaiah,  "I  hate 
him,  for  he  doth  not  prophesy  good  concerning 
me,  but  evil."  We  can  only  grow  in  the  divine 
life  by  exposing  ourselves  to  the  reproofs  and 
searchings  of  the  divine  Word;  and  allowing 
them  their  due  weight. 

109 


Ohf  do  not  this  abominable  thing  that  I  hate. 

Jer.  xliv.  4. 

THERE  is  a  personal  element  in  sin.  It  is 
not  simply  a  violation  of  law,  the  law  of  the 
moral  universe.  It  is  against  our  own  soul  (ver. 
7),  and,  above  all,  it  hurts  the  holy,  loving  na- 
ture of  God,  so  that  His  Spirit  cries  out  as  in 
agony,  "Oh,  do  it  not!"  There  is  something 
very  pathetic  in  this  cry,  extorted  by  the  sin  of 
man  from  the  heart  of  God.  It  reminds  one  of 
that  cry  of  Jesus,  "  O  faithless  and  perverse  gen- 
eration, how  long  shall  I  be  with  you,  and  suffer 
you?" 

If  any  one  suffers  very  keenly  from  nervous  ex- 
haustion, it  seems  sometimes  almost  impossible 
for  him  to  bear  the  noise  of  a  child  who  persists 
in  running  heavily  overhead.  He  will  adopt  a 
pleading  rather  than  an  angry  tone:  "My  child, 
do  not  do  this  again  ;  I  cannot  bear  it."  Let  us 
think  of  God's  holy  nature  as  more  sensitive  to 
sin  than  the  most  highly-strung  nerves  to  noise, 
and  hear  Him  saying,  whenever  we  are  on  the 
point  of  committing  sin,  "  Oh,  do  not  this  abom- 
inable thing  that  I  hate." 

How  greatly  God  hates  sin  is  taught  us  in  the 
Cross.  In  order  to  put  it  away  He  spared  not 
His  only-begotten  Son,  but  yielded  Him  to  the 
bitterness  of  Calvary. 

And  how  greatly  the  blessed  Son  hates  it  is 
evident  from  the  bloody  sweat  of  Gethsemane, 
when  the  shadow  of  the  great  burden  of  a  world's 
guilt  lay  upon  Him. 

And  how  greatly  must  the  Holy  Spirit,  whose 
temple  is  our  body,  hate  any  sin  that  defiles  it  ! 
Thus  the  Holy  Trinity,  with  one  voice,  pleads 
with  thee,  who  meditatest  evil.  Beware  of  bring- 
ing pain  into  the  heart  of  Infinite  Love;  but  ask 
that  some  of  God's  hate  for  sin  may  be  yours. 
110 


Thou  didst  say^   Woe  is  me  now  /  .   .   .   but  thy 
life  will  I  give  thee.  Jer.  xlv.  j,  5. 

TROUBLE  is  an  inevitable  part  of  human  ex- 
perience. '*  Man  that  is  born  of  a  woman,"  we 
are  told,  *'  is  of  few  days  and  full  of  trouble." 
In  addition  to  their  share  in  the  common  heritage 
of  man,  it  often  falls  to  the  lot  of  God's  saints  to 
suffer  specially  in  connection  with  His  kingdom 
and  glory.  They  know  the  fellowship  of  His 
sufferings.  They  sigh  and  cry  for  all  the  abom- 
inations which  are  being  wrought  in  their  midst. 
The  very  association  of  Baruch  with  Jeremiah 
extorted  the  groan,  "Woe  is  me  now!  for  the 
Lord  hath  added  sorrow  to  my  pain." 

But  out  of  our  sorrow  and  pain,  when  borne 
patiently  and  trustfully,  comes  the  more  abundant 
life.  "Behold,  I  will  bring  evil  upon  all  flesh; 
but  thy  life  will  I  give  unto  thee."  Pain  casts  a 
vail  on  all  our  pleasant  earthly  things,  so  that  we 
take  no  further  interest  in  them,  and  turn  our 
thoughts  to  the  unseen  and  eternal.  Sorrow 
drives  us  to  the  God  of  all  comfort.  By  the  fire 
our  dross  is  consumed.  Through  travail  of  soul 
the  characteristics  of  godliness  are  born.  "Ex- 
cept a  corn  of  wheat  fall  into  the  ground  and 
die^  it  abides  alone ;  but  if  it  die,  it  bringeth 
forth  much  fruit." 

God  often  reveals  ourselves  to  ourselves  till  we 
cry.  Woe  is  me  now  !  When  God's  light  dis- 
covers our  sins  of  appetite,  of  avarice,  meanness, 
and  niggardliness ;  of  temper,  fretfulness,  and 
peevishness;  of  lack  of  conscientiousness,  the 
partial  fulfillment  of  promises,  unfaithfulness, 
and  misunderstandings.  When  we  think  of  the 
want  of  constancy,  truth,  prayer,  faith,  and  love, 
we  are  plunged  in  despair.  Woe  is  me  now  ! 
But  out  of  all  this  there  springs  abundant  life, 
and  we  rejoice  that  the  great  Revealer  did  not 
spare. 

Ill 


Fear  thou  not,    O  Jacob  my  servattt,  saith  the 
Lord ;  for  I  am  with  thee,  Jer.  xlvi.  28. 

THIS  chapter  is  full  of  the  clash  and  crash  of 
war.  In  the  most  graphic  and  stirring  words, 
the  prophet  describes  the  tide  of  Egyptian  inva- 
sion, as  its  waters  toss  themselves  upon  the  iron 
phalanxes  of  Babylon,  like  a  rock-bound  coast ; 
to  recoil,  defeated  and  broken,  into  myriads  of 
foam-drops.  The  result  to  the  great  empire  of 
Egypt  is  disastrous ;  her  gods  and  kings  are  not 
able  to  save  her  from  her  justly-deserved  punish- 
ment; she  drinks  the  cup  of  indignation  and 
wrath  to  her  destruction. 

But,  amid  it  all,  God  remembers  His  people. 
They,  too,  are  suffering  from  the  results  of  their 
sins.  And  as  they  hear  of  all  that  has  befallen 
greater  nations  than  themselves,  they  may  well 
fear  that  their  own  fate  will  no  less  be  irremedi- 
able and  final.  If  the  great  kingdom  of  Egypt 
has  received  its  death  wound,  from  which  it  must 
slowly  bleed  to  death,  what  hope  can  there  be  for 
Israel,  captive  in  Babylon,  while  Canaan  lies 
waste  ?  To  such  fears  God  speaks  words  of  ten- 
der comfort  and  reassurance.  "Fear  not  thou, 
neither  be  dismayed ;  I  will  make  a  full  end  of 
all  the  nations,  but  I  will  not  a  full  end  of  thee ; 
I  will  not  leave  thee  unpunished,  but  will  correct 
thee  in  measure;   I  will  save  thee  from  afar." 

Oh,  blessed  words !  If  we  have  become  the 
children  of  God  by  faith  in  Jesus ;  if  God  has 
ever  entered  into  covenant  with  our  souls;  if  He 
has  taken  us  to  be  His  and  to  give  us  His  best — 
then,  though  we  suffer  chastisement,  we  shall  not 
be  overwhelmed  by  it :  though  we  are  corrected, 
diminished,  and  brought  low,  God  will  not  make 
a  full  end  of  us  :  though  we  are  pruned,  we  shall 
not  be  cut  down  to  the  ground.  We  may  even 
look  out  with  a  quiet  mind  on  the  irretrievable 
disasters  which  overtake  the  ungodly. 
112 


O  thou  sword  of  the  Lord,  how  long  will  it  be 
ere  thou  be  quiet?  Jer.  xlvii.  6,  7  (r.  v.). 

O  SWORD  of  the  Lord ;  thou  hast  wounded 
us  sore  !  Like  a  two-edged  sword,  the  Word  of 
God  has  pierced  to  the  dividing  asunder  of  soul 
and  spirit,  of  the  joints  and  marrow.  How 
deeply  it  has  penetrated ;  how  sharply  it  has 
cut !  And  even  now  it  cannot  rest.  The  work 
of  discrimination  and  separation  is  still  going  on 
within  us.  We  are  constantly  seeing  new  depths 
of  our  own  utter  worthlessness  and  evil.  Possi- 
bilities of  our  own  bad  hearts,  of  which  we  had 
not  dreamed,  arise  to  confront  us.  And  immedi- 
ately the  Divine  sword  sets  itself  to  hack  and 
hew  and  cut  away  the  evil  growth  of  selfishness, 
of  which  we  have  caught  a  glimpse. 

There  are  times  in  our  lives  when  we  cry,  *'0 
thou  sword  of  the  Lord,  how  long  ere  thou  be 
quiet:  rest  and  be  still."  Will  the  process  of 
purification  and  deliverance  never  be  complete? 
Will  not  the  destructive  work  of  God  soon  end  ? 
The  operation  has  lasted  months  and  years ; 
when  will  the  Divine  Surgeon  lay  down  the 
knife?     O  knife  of  God,  rest  thee  ! 

But  how  can  it  be  quiet,  seeing  that  the  work 
is  not  done?  We  are  not  yet  rid  of  the  last  re- 
mains of  sin.  The  wound  is  not  yet  probed  to 
the  bottom.  The  roots  of  the  cancerous  growth 
of  selfishness  have  not  yet  been  entirely  removed  ; 
and  if  any  one  of  them  remains,  all  the  work  will 
have  to  be  done  again.  How  can  it  be  quiet, 
seeing  that  God  loves  us  too  well  to  allow  us  to 
bear  with  us  into  eternity  aught  that  will  hinder 
our  perfect  fruition  of  bliss?  How  can  it  be 
quiet,  seeing  that  this  is  the  only  world  where 
pain  can  reach  His  saints ;  and  He  must  do  His 
work  quickly,  ere  we  reach  the  land  where  the 
sword  is  placed  in  its  scabbard,  and  stilled  for- 
ever. 

113 


Mo  ah  hath  not  been  emptied  from  vessel  to  vessel. 

Jer.  xlviii.  ii  (R.  v.). 

THIS  beautiful  and  appropriate  imagery,  bor- 
rowed from  the  vineyard,  speaks  for  itself.  It 
would  be  readily  appreciated  by  the  peasant 
populations  that  toiled  amid  the  terraced  hills 
of  Moab.  To  prevent  scum  and  sediment,  the 
newly-made  wine  was  emptied  from  one  vessel  to 
another  until  it  reached  the  condition  of  perfect 
fluidity.  In  Moab's  case  there  had  been  noth- 
ing comparable  to  this,  and  therefore  the  rank, 
coarse  taste  remained  in  him,  and  he  had  settled 
on  his  lees. 

What  an  insight  this  affords  of  God's  method 
with  the  souls  of  men  !  Why  these  constant 
removals  from  town  to  town;  from  church  to 
church  ;  from  situation  to  situation  ?  Why  this 
perpetual  change  and  revolution  in  our  plans? 
Why  this  incessant  going  into  captivity  to  irk- 
some and  trying  circumstances?  All  this  is  part 
of  God's  manufacture  of  the  wine  of  life.  We 
must  be  emptied  from  vessel  to  vessel,  else  we 
should  settle  on  our  lees,  and  become  thick  and 
raw  and  unpalatable.  When  the  next  change 
comes  in  your  life,  do  not  fear  it.  The  blessed 
God  will  see  to  it  that  no  drop  of  the  precious 
fluid  shall  be  spilt  on  the  ground.  With  the 
tenderest  care  He  conducts  the  whole  opera- 
tion. 

Perhaps  there  is  a  counterpart  to  this  incessant 
change  from  place  to  place  in  the  perpetual  flux 
of  our  emotions.  We  never  feel  the  same  for 
long  together.  We  are  constantly  being  emptied 
from  one  blessed  frame  into  another,  not  quite  so 
joyous  or  peaceful.  We  have  to  hold  the  most 
heavenly  emotions  with  a  light  hand,  not  know- 
ing how  soon  they  may  have  passed.  And  it  is 
well.  Otherwise  we  should  never  lose  the  taste 
of  our  proud  self-complacency. 
114 


Divell  deep. 

Jer.  xlix.  8. 

AS  originally  spoken,  these  words  summoned 
the  people  of  Edom  to  seek  the  shadows  of  im- 
penetrable forests,  and  retire  into  the  secrecy  of 
the  caves  and  dens  of  the  rocks.  The  deeper 
their  hiding-place,  the  better  it  would  be  when 
the  storm  of  invasion  swept  across  the  land. 

Dwell  deep  in  the  peace  of  God. — God's  peace 
is  so  deep  and  blessed  that  it  cannot  be  fathomed 
or  explained ;  the  fugitive  into  its  sacred  secrets 
cannot  be  followed  or  dragged  forth  to  perish  by 
the  merciless  pack  of  the  wolves  of  care.  Men 
of  the  world  cannot  understand  that  mystery  of 
peace ;  but  the  believer  knows  the  way  into  it, 
and  makes  it  his  hiding-place  and  pavilion. 
He  sleeps  like  his  Master  in  the  stern,  while 
storms  sweep  the  waters. 

Dwell  deep  in  communion  with  God. — Hide  in 
God.  Get  away  from  the  rush  and  strife  around, 
and  go  alone  into  the  clear,  still  depths  of  His 
nature.  The  Rhone  loses  all  its  silt  in  the  deep, 
clear  waters  of  Geneva's  lake.  A  few  hasty  words 
of  prayer  will  not  avail  for  this.  A  day's  climb 
is  often  necessary  before  one  can  reach  the  heart 
of  the  mountains. 

Dwell  deep  in  stillness  of  soul. — Do  not  live 
on  the  outside  of  life,  in  the  outer  courts  of  the 
temple  of  the  soul.  Get  within.  God  awaits 
thee  there.  Centre  thyself.  When  the  world  is 
full  of  alarm  and  harassments,  study  to  be  quiet. 
The  soul's  health  cannot  be  maintained  apart 
from  the  observance  of  times  of  waiting  on  God 
in  solitude.  The  great  importance  of  persever- 
ance in  the  exercise  of  prayer  and  inward  retire- 
ment may  be  sufficiently  learned,  says  one,  next 
to  the  experience  of  it,  merely  from  the  tempter's 
artifices  and  endeavors  to  allure  us  from  it,  and 
make  us  neglect  it. 

115 


They  have  forgotten    their   resting-place y    their 
place  to  lie  down  in.  Jer.  I.  6  {juarg.). 

THESE  words  may  often  be  said  of  us.  A  time 
of  emergency  arises ;  the  necessity  for  instant  and 
vigorous  action  seems  overpowering;  we  fail  to 
see  what  course  to  adopt — and  immediately  we 
get  flurried  and  excited ;  we  run  from  one  to 
another;  we  lose  our  sleep.  All  our  earnest 
resolutions  to  abide  in  Christ  and  live  in  His 
fellowship  are  forgotten.  We  have  forgotten  our 
resting-place. 

Or  we  are  in  the  midst  of  a  great  campaign  of 
work.  From  morning  to  night  we  are  plunged 
in  a  mass  of  calculations  and  activities.  There 
is  no  time  to  take  our  meals,  much  less  to  obtain 
opportunities  for  prayer  and  fellowship  with  God. 
Our  rooms  without,  our  souls  within,  are  lit- 
tered with  the  symptoms  of  the  many  absorbing 
interests  which  are  monopolizing  our  attention. 
We  have  forgotten  our  resting-place. 

Or,  perhaps,  it  is  a  time  of  great  temptation. 
Hour  after  hour  the  foe  returns  to  the  attack. 
We  have  done  our  best  to  withstand  him ;  but  have 
hit  out  without  precision,  have  fired  at  random. 
Again,  we  have  forgotten  our  resting-place. 

The  place  where  we  lie  down  to  rest  is  under 
the  shadow  of  the  Cross.  Whilst  we  remain 
there,  we  are  perfectly  safe  and  blessed.  Return 
unto  thy  rest,  O  straying  sheep  !  Back  to  the 
arms  of  Jesus,  where  only  such  frail  ones  as  thou 
art  are  safe. 

I  knew  a  man,  who  had  to  bear  a  thousand 
crosses  belonging  to  others,  and  who  grieved 
himself  into  an  illness  because  others  did  not 
love  God  as  He  deserves,  till  all  at  once  his  own 
foolishness  and  sinfulness  struck  him  to  the  heart. 
He  could  do  nothing  then  but  cast  himself  and 
them  into  the  endless  depths  of  the  love  of  God ; 
and  he  ended  by  having  rest  in  his  heart,  and  a 
song  on  his  lips. 

116 


Israel  hath  not  been  forsake^i,  nor  Judah  of  his 
Godf  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts.  Jer.  IL  j. 

YES,  indeed,  our  life  has  been  filled  with  sin 
against  the  Holy  One  of  Israel.  We  see  it  now. 
As  we  look  back  upon  the  past  with  the  light  of 
the  present  reflected  upon  it,  we  see  how  every 
day  has  added  its  quota  of  transgression.  How 
bitterly  we  must  have  grieved  the  Holy  Ghost  ! 
How  terribly  have  made  the  Holy  One  suffer  !  Do 
you  wonder  that  Jesus  still  appears  in  heaven  as 
a  Lamb  as  it  had  been  slain  ! 

But  He  has  not  forsaken  !  As  again  we  review 
our  life,  how  abundant  is  the  evidence  that  we 
have  not  been  forsaken.  Forsaken  ! — Then  God's 
right  hand  would  lose  its  cunning.  Forsaken  ! 
— Then  the  tides  that  flow  through  the  heart 
of  God  would  have  to  leap  backward.  For- 
saken ! — Then  the  eternal  purposes  would  have 
to  be  frustrated.  Forsaken  ! — Then  the  Divine 
word  would  be  forfeited,  and  the  Divine  Son 
would  go  without  His  meed.  Sin  is  mighty ;  but 
there  is  one  thing  it  cannot  do,  it  cannot  make 
God  forsake  those  whom  He  has  adopted  into  His 
family.  Sin  dragged  the  archangel  to  the  pit ; 
but  it  can  never  wrench  the  believer  out  of  the 
hand  of  God.  Sin  brought  Christ  from  the 
throne  to  the  cross ;  but  it  can  never  cause  God 
to  leave,  or  cease  to  care  for,  His  own. 

Does  this  lead  you  to  presumption  ?  Do  you 
say.  Then  I  may  do  as  I  like  ?  Ah,  beware  ! 
Those  that  talk  thus  have  not  the  mark  of  His 
children.  The  child  loves  with  the  love  that 
fears  to  grieve  God,  more  than  to  be  forsaken  of 
[Him.  *'The  love  of  Christ  constrains  me  to 
forsake  these  things.  I  have  long  enough  cruci- 
fied my  beloved  Saviour  with  my  sins.  His  love 
constrains  me  to  renounce  all  that  grieves  Him, 
and  live  for  Him  alone." 
117 


Every  day  a  portion  until  the  day  of  his  deaths 
all  the  days  of  his  life.  jer.  Hi.  34. 

IF  the  King  of  Babylon  did  thus  for  a  captive 
king,  his  prisoner,  will  your  heavenly  Father  do 
less  for  you?  He  created  you  to  need  the  daily 
portion,  and  cannot  be  oblivious  of  His  own 
constitution  of  your  nature.  You  wind  up  your 
watch  each  day,  because  you  know  that  other- 
wise it  will  stop;  and  God  will  not  be  less 
thoughtful  of  your  constant  need  of  reinforce- 
ment. '^He  knoweth  that  ye  have  need  of  all 
these  things."  His  faithfulness  guarantees  that 
there  always  will  be  the  portion  of  good  for  the 
body;  always  the  portion  of  love  and  light  for 
the  soul;  always  the  portion  of  Holy  Spirit 
quickening  for  the  spirit. 

It  is  easier  to  die  once  than  to  live  always.  It 
is  not  easy  to  meet  the  continual  demand  of  re- 
current duty ;  not  easy  to  live  a  full  and  strong 
life,  that  never  dips  below  the  horizon,  or  sinks 
in  the  fountain-basin.  But  it  is  possible,  when 
the  soul  has  learned  to  leave  all  care  with  God, 
waiting  on  Him  for  the  supply  of  all  its  needs, 
and  esteeming  that  He  is  the  only  really  satis- 
factory portion  we  need. 

"Neither  prison-walls,  nor  locks,  nor  the 
cruelty  of  man,"  said  some  imprisoned  suffering 
souls,  "  can  obstruct  the  issues  of  the  Lord's  love 
nor  the  manifestation  of  His  presence,  which  is 
our  joy  and  comfort,  and  carries  us  above  all 
sufferings,  and  makes  days  and  hours  and  years 
pleasant  to  us ;  which  pass  away  as  a  moment, 
because  of  the  enjoyment  of  seeing  Him  with 
whom  a  thousand  years  is  but  as  one  day." 

Those  who  can  trust  God  in  these  directions 
are  not  only  abundantly  satisfied  of  His  great 
goodness,  but  are  able  to  send  portions  to  others. 
Like  the  disciples,  they  share  out  their  slender 
supplies  and  get  twelve  baskets  full  in  return. 
118 


The   Lord  is  righteous ;   for    I   have   rebelled 
against  His  conwia7idme7it.  Lam.  i.  i8. 

IN  these  plaintive  elegiacs,  Jerusalem,  by  the 
mouth  of  the  prophet,  laments  her  fate.  But 
the  story  of  her  desolation  is  mingled  with  con- 
fessions of  her  sin.  She  asks  boldly  if  any 
sorrow  could  be  compared  to  her  sorrow,  and 
then  confesses  that  not  one  pang  or  stroke  had 
been  in  excess  of  her  sin.  This  is  what  sorrow 
does  for  us  all. 

Sorrow  has  been  fitly  called  the  mother  of  all 
joy.  She  alone  creates  the  darkness,  in  which 
we  can  distinguish  the  real  meaning  of  God's 
dealings,  and  understand  the  true  nature  of  our 
wild  wanderings.  Her  neutral  tints  subdue  the 
soul's  pride,  and  turn  it  away  from  the  glare  of 
human  ambition.  Beneath  her  teaching  we  learn 
to  view  aright  the  evanescence  of  all  things 
human,  and  to  see  that  the  eternal  is  alone  real 
amid  a  world  of  illusions. 

«  Sweet  sorrow,  who  the  earth  has  ever  trod, 
Dreaded  and  shunned,  till,  by  thy  burning  kiss. 
The  heart  was  fired  and  flamed  serene  to  God ; 

O  kind  stern  friend,  we  leave  thee  on  Time's  shore. 
The  only  friend  of  earth  whom  we  shall  see  no  more." 

Perhaps  your  sorrow  will  be  allowed  to  press 
on  you  more  and  more  sorely  till  you  have  been 
led  to  self-examination,  confession  of  sin,  and 
acknowledgment  of  the  Tightness  of  God's  deal- 
ings with  you.  There  is  an  alloy  of  pride  in 
your  nature  that  must  be  destroyed.  If  the  fire 
is  not  hot  enough,  its  heat  must  be  raised  till  it 
suffices.  Accept  the  lesson  of  your  present  pain, 
and  rebel  no  longer. 

The  waves  of  unutterable  grief  may  be  break- 
ing in  succession  against  the  beaten  promontory 
of  your  faith,  and  will  be  followed  by  the  great 
tenth  wave  of  apparent  desertion  :  but  the  return- 
tide  of  exultant  joy  is  at  hand. 
119 


The  prophets  have  seen  visions  for  thee  of  vanity 
a7id foolishness.  Lam.  it.  14. 

THE  prophet  is  addressing  Jerusalem — ruined, 
desolate,  and  afflicted — the  city  waste  ;  her  chil- 
dren in  Babylon.  Of  course  the  main  question 
was  as  to  their  return  from  captivity,  and  deliv- 
erance from  their  yoke.  The  false  prophets  were 
perpetually  seeing  visions  of  deliverance  that 
were  never  fulfilled.  Now  this  kingdom  would 
come  to  their  rescue ;  now  that.  But  they  were 
empty  dreams.  The  captivity  would  never  be 
turned,  until  the  iniquity  which  had  led  to  it  had 
been  discovered  and  put  away.  But  the  prophets 
had  no  desire  or  ability  to  do  this.  Now  this  is 
true  of  yourself  as  an  individual  and  as  a  Chris- 
tian worker. 

As  an  Individual :  You  are  suffering  in  one 
way  or  another :  in  body,  or  relative,  or  circum- 
stance. Your  one  thought  is  to  obtain  deliver- 
ance, and  your  mind  is  filled  with  vain  dreams 
of  how  it  is  to  come.  It  would  be  better  far  to 
ask  God  to  discover  to  you  any  reason  for  the 
chastisement.  If  He  says  nothing,  then  believe 
that  there  is  still  some  wise  end  in  it  for  yourself 
or  others.  But  He  may  indicate  some  reason 
for  His  strokes. 

As  a  Christian  Worker :  Your  earnest  en- 
deavors have  failed.  You  suppose  that  some  new 
method  will  bring  success.  There  may  be  some 
reason  in  yourself  which  will  account  for  all. 
Ask  God  to  discover  it.  When  you  see  it  in  His 
light,  you  will  be  surprised  that  you  never  saw  it 
before ;  and  you  will  cease  to  wonder  that  those 
over  whom  you  have  longed  have  never  yielded 
to  the  love  of  God.  It  is  useless  to  have  visions 
of  a  lovely  and  holy  life,  unless  you  are  willing 
to  have  your  iniquity  discovered  and  destroyed. 
Oh  for  faithful  prophet-voices  to  do  their  office 
for  us ! 

120 


Thou  drewest  near  in  the  day  that  I  called  upon 
Thee  :    Thou  saidsty  Fear  not.  Lam.  Hi.  57. 

JEREMIAH  is  referring  to  his  own  experi- 
ences of  the  dungeon,  into  which  the  malice  of 
his  foes  had  plunged  him.  As  he  reached  its 
lowest  depths,  he  began  to  call  upon  God,  and 
continued  to  call.  His  reliance  was  on  the  name 
(/.  <?.,  the  nature)  of  God.  This  is  the  most  po- 
tent argument  that  any  soul  can  employ.  Not 
our  faith,  but  his  faithfulness :  not  our  trust, 
but  his  trustworthiness.  "Act  worthily  of  that 
great  name,  which  Thou  hast  taken  for  Thyself, 
O  God,  we  beseech  Thee." 

No  sooner  was  that  appeal  made  than  it  was 
heard.  *'Thou  heardest  my  voice."  Notice 
that  the  very  breathing  of  the  persecuted  soul 
was  heard  by  the  Most  High.  A  mother  listens 
for  the  breathing  of  her  babe  in  the  dark.  It 
will  tell  her  so  much.  The  soft,  measured  breath, 
or  the  laboring,  gasping  breath.  God  never  hides 
His  ear  from  our  breathing ;  or  from  those  in- 
articulate cries,  which  express,  as  words  could 
not  do,  the  deep  anguish  and  yearning  of  the 
heart.  If  you  cannot  speak,  cry,  sob,  or  groan, 
then  be  still.     God  can  interpret  all. 

Then  He  draws  nigh.  Of  course,  He  is  ever 
nigh.  "  Nearer  than  breathing."  But  He  gives 
a  sweet  consciousness  of  His  presence.  The  dark 
dungeon  of  bereavement,  or  sorrow,  suddenly  be- 
comes luminous  with  the  radiance  of  the  She- 
kinah  ;  the  stillness  is  broken  by  the  approaching 
footfall  of  the  Almighty  Friend,  who  is  never  so 
near  as  when  lover  and  friend  are  unable  to  help. 
Oh,  how  tenderly  He  draws  nigh  !  Solitude  in- 
deed hath  charms,  for  it  is  our  Saviour's  oppor- 
tunity ;  and  the  dungeon  becomes  desirable,  for 
it  is  the  ante-room  to  the  presence-chamber  of 
our  King.  Happy  they  who  have  learned  to  de- 
tect the  secret  of  the  Lord,  and  His  whispered 
Fear  not  ! 

121 


Of  whom  we  said,  Under  his  shadow  we  shall 
live  among  the  nations.  Lam.  iv.  20  (r.  v.). 

THE  people  tell  the  sad  tale  of  the  pursuit  of 
their  foes.  Swifter  than  the  eagles,  they  chased 
them  on  the  mountains,  and  laid  wait  for  them 
in  the  wilderness.  Then  they  narrate  how  their 
king  fell  into  the  hands  of  them  who  sought  his 
life.  He  was  dear  to  them  as  the  breath  of  their 
nostrils;  his  person  was  sacred  as  the  anointed 
of  the  Lord ;  they  had  thought  that  even  though 
tliey  were  carried  into  captivity  they  would  find 
some  alleviation  to  their  hardships  in  dwelling 
under  his  protection;  they  said,  **  Under  his 
shadow  we  shall  live  among  the  nations."  But 
even  he  was  taken  in  their  pits. 

What  a  likeness  and  a  contrast  to  our  blessed 
Lord  !  There  is  likeness.  He  is  as  the  breath 
of  our  life.  As  we  inhale  the  air  around  us,  so 
we  expand  our  souls  to  drink  in  of  His  most 
blessed  nature.  We  open  our  mouths,  and  in- 
hale Him  as  our  vital  element;  His  Spirit  for 
our  spirit ;  His  blood  for  our  souls ;  His  resurrec- 
tion strength  for  our  bodies.  He  is  the  A7iointed 
of  the  Father,  who  anoints  us.  Because  He  is  the 
Christ  (Anointed),  we  are  Christians  (anointed 
ones).  His  shadow  is  a  most  grateful  and  wide- 
spreading  one,  beneath  which  we  may  dwell  in 
safety. 

But  how  great  the  contrast  !  Though  He 
was  once  taken  in  the  pit  of  Satanic  malice  and 
the  shadow  of  death,  yet  now  He  liveth  to  be  the 
shield  and  protector  of  His  people  wherever  they 
are  scattered  among  the  nations.  He  that  sitteth 
on  the  throne  shall  spread  His  tabernacle  over 
them.  They  shall  hunger  and  thirst  no  more, 
neither  shall  the  sun  strike  them.  However  far 
our  bodies  are  from  one  another,  we  all  dwell 
beneath  the  shadow  of  the  Lord,  which  is  as  a 
great  rock  in  a  weary  land. 
122 


Turn  Thou  us  unto  Thee,  O  Lord,  and  we  shall 
be  turned.    Renew  our  days  as  of  old.   Lam.  v,  21. 

WEARY  of  chastening,  and  longing  to  have 
again  all  the  blessed  enjoyments  and  privileges 
of  the  past,  the  backslider  desires  to  be  right 
with  God,  as  he  used  to  be.  But  he  is  often  met 
with  great  initial  difficulties.  He  would  pray, 
but  cannot ;  he  would  feel  broken  and  penitent, 
but  his  heart  is  as  hard  as  the  nether  millstone ; 
he  would  take  the  old  pleasure  in  the  service  and 
worship  of  the  Most  High,  but  it  evades  his 
grasp.     This  perplexes  and  daunts  him. 

What  should  be  our  attitude  under  such  cir- 
cumstances? There  is  nothing  better  than  to 
adopt  the  cry  of  the  prophet,  and  ask  God  to 
turn  the  soul,  and  renew  its  blessed  and  holy  ex- 
periences. There  will  be  no  doubt  of  our  being 
turned,  if  He  turns  us. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  recover  the  altitude,  emo- 
tions, and  work  of  past  days,  when  we  have 
yielded  ourselves  absolutely  to  God,  and  have 
cast  on  Him  the  responsibility  of  making  us  all 
that  He  has  taught  us  to  desire.  Let  Him  assign 
what  standard  He  chooses,  there  will  be  no  diffi- 
culty in  our  attaining  it,  if  He  fulfills  in  us  all 
the  good  pleasure  of  His  will,  and  the  work  of 
faith  with  power. 

The  happy  life  is  that  which  does  not  need  to 
ask  for  the  olden  days  to  be  renewed,  because  it 
is  ever  anticipating  that  it  will  be  belter  further 
on,  and  that  the  dawn  will  grow  into  the  perfect 
day  ;  but  where  the  past  was  better  than  the  pres- 
ent is,  let  us  ask  that  God  would  restore  the  years 
that  the  caterpillar  and  cankerworm  have  eaten. 
Just  because  God  abides  forever,  and  His  throne 
is  from  generation  to  generation,  He  is  able  to 
renew  the  soul  with  new  pulses  of  energy  and  life. 
Each  spring  He  makes  the  world  as  fair  as  on  the 
morning  of  creation.  "Renew  our  days  as  of 
old." 

123 


When  the  living  creatures  wenty  the  wheels  went 
beside  them.  Ezek.  i.  ig  (r.  v.). 

THESE  living  creatures,  whom  Ezekiel  after- 
ward recognized  as  cherubim,  represented  the  en- 
tire round  of  animate  existence.  The  lion's 
majestic  strength,  the  patient  strength  and  labor 
of  the  ox,  the  keen  vision  and  aspiring  flight  of 
the  eagle,  combined  in  perfect  proportion  in  their 
noble  forms.  The  wheels  may  represent  the  round 
of  Providence — what  we  would  call  the  circle  of 
nature.  The  point  for  us  to  notice  is  the  perfect 
harmony  between  the  spirit,  the  living  creatures, 
and  the  wheels ;  and  from  this  we  learn  the  deep 
and  sacred  lesson,  that  those  who  live  and  walk 
in  the  Spirit  may  count  on  the  cooperation  of  all 
animate  creatures,  and  the  concurrence  of  Divine 
providence.  When  we  live  consciously  and  vol- 
untarily in  the  centre  of  the  Divine  will,  we  are 
at  the  centre  of  many  concentric  circles,  and  all 
things  serve  us.     All  things  are  ours. 

If  we  would  be  Spirit-taught  and  guided,  we 
must  die  to  ourselves,  to  sin,  and  to  the  world  ; 
no  longer  seeking  anything  for  ourselves  in  this 
world.  If,  says  Pastor  Stockmayer,  we  have 
treasure  outside  of  Christ,  our  heart  will  hasten 
to  where  our  treasure  lies.  Only  those  who  ac- 
count themselves  set  loose  from  the  things  of  this 
world  to  serve  Christ  entirely,  amid  the  things 
of  this  world,  can  distinguish  the  movements  of 
the  Spirit. 

Each  is  guided  in  a  way  that  he  knows;  and 
has  the  special  name  written  on  the  white  stone. 
God  speaks  in  the  depths  of  our  being,  far 
deeper  than  the  region  of  our  feelings,  disposi- 
tions, or  impressions ;  and  He  will  make  Him- 
self heard,  if  only  we  are  set  to  obey  Him. 
Let  surrender  become  the  abiding  habit  of  life, 
and  the  spiritual  hearing  will  be  more  and  more 
acute. 

124 


Be  not  afraid  of  them,  neither  be  afraid  of  their 
words.  Ezek.  ii.  6. 

EZEKIEL'S  lot  was  cast  in  difficult  times. 
His  people,  to  whom  he  was  sent,  whether  by 
the  Chebar  in  captivity,  or  still  lingering  around 
their  doomed  mother-city,  were  as  briers,  thorns, 
and  scorpions.  Embittered  by  their  many  sorrows ; 
convicted  by  conscience  of  their  guilt  before 
God ;  compelled  to  trace  a  close  connection  be- 
tween their  sins  and  their  punishment — it  was  in- 
evitable that  they  would  turn  with  peculiar 
dislike  on  any  one  who  dared,  like  Ezekiel,  to 
be  an  incarnate  conscience  to  them,  reminding 
them  of  their  evil  ways,  remonstrating,  exhorting, 
pleading. 

Many  readers  of  these  words  are  in  similar 
circumstances.  Missionaries  who  are  obliged  to 
rebuke,  not  only  the  sins  of  the  ungodly,  but  the 
inconsistencies  of  their  own  converts ;  ministers 
at  home  on  whom  the  burden  rests  of  protesting 
against  popular  and  fashionable  iniquity,  or  ad- 
dressing stern  words  of  rebuke  to  influential  but 
worldly  members  of  their  churches ;  even  young 
clerks  or  working-men  whose  life  is  thrown  among 
the  godless  and  profane,  and  who  seem  called 
upon  to  lodge  their  solemn  warning  against  words 
and  ways  that  are  not  good.  Providing  these 
enter  their  protest  lovingly  and  tenderly,  with  no 
thought  of  their  superiority,  with  no  mere  desire 
to  wound  and  annoy,  but  to  warn  the  sinner  and 
to  uphold  the  claims  of  Christ — their  mission  is 
a  very  salutary  and  necessary  one.  But  it  is  sure 
to  bring  on  them  a  storm  of  dislike. 

At  such  times  there  is  nothing  for  us  but  to 
abide  in  the  presence  of  our  Master  Christ,  weep- 
ing for  the  sins  we  rebuke,  interceding  for  those 
who  revile.  Not  fearful  nor  afraid,  nor  flinching 
from  our  duty,  but  ever  hearing  His  sweet  reassur- 
ing voice. 

125 


Eat  this  roll,  and  go  speak. 

Ezek.  in.  i. 

TO  each  of  us  a  Hand  is  put  forth;  and 
therein  is  the  roll  of  the  Book.  We  must  feed 
on  it  for  ourselves.  We  must  find  God's  words 
and  eat  them  ;  they  must  be  the  joy  and  rejoicing 
of  our  hearts.  It  is  specially  incumbent  on  those 
who  have  to  go  forth  and  speak,  to  open  their 
mouths  and  eat  the  roll.  There  is  no  greater 
mistake  than  to  suppose  that,  because  we  are 
constantly  handling  God's  Word  for  the  purpose 
of  teaching  and  exhorting  others,  we  are  there- 
fore feeding  on  it  for  ourselves.  It  is  possible  to 
acquire  an  intellectual  knowledge  of  the  truth, 
while  the  heart  is  entirely  unaffected.  But  how 
far  removed  is  this  from  that  spiritual  considera- 
tion of  God's  Word,  by  virtue  of  which  it  yields 
up  its  spiritual  nutriment  to  our  growth  in  the 
Divine  life. 

Sometimes  the  message  we  must  acquire  and 
give  is,  like  this  roll,  written  within  and  without 
with  lamentations,  and  mourning,  and  woe.  It 
can  hardly  be  otherwise,  when  we  are  called  to 
speak  to  people  who  are  of  a  hard  forehead  and 
a  stiff  heart.  It  is  very  sweet  to  receive  God's 
messages ;  but  it  is  bitter  to  have  to  deliver  them 
when  they  proclaim,  as  they  must,  the  inevitable 
and  disastrous  results  of  sin.  Oh  that  we  may 
not  shrink  to  declare  the  whole  counsel  of  God, 
whether  rebellious  men  will  hear  or  forbear. 
Perhaps  there  has  not  been  enough  of  this  ele- 
ment in  our  preaching.  All  sunshine,  the  Arabs 
say,  makes  the  desert.  The  harvest  will  fail  un- 
less the  frost  of  winter  has  thoroughly  broken  up 
the  clods.  But  whenever  we  dwell  on  the  sterner 
aspects  of  God's  truth  it  must  be  with  bitter 
tears.  *'I  tell  you,  even  weeping,'^  the  apostle 
said,  "that  they  are  enemies  of  the  Cross  of 
Christ." 

126 


Then  said  /,  Ah^  Lord  God ! 

Ezek.  iv.  i^. 

THE  prophet  was  bidden,  in  a  series  of  strik- 
ing and  significant  actions,  to  show  the  people  the 
impending  fate  of  their  nation  and  city. 
Amongst  other  injunctions  there  was  one  so 
abhorrent  to  his  soul  that  he  craved  its  mitigation. 
*'Ah,  Lord  God!"  he  said,  *' spare  me  from 
this."  And  God  was  entreated,  and  reduced  the 
pressure  of  the  burden  proposed  to  be  laid  on  His 
servant. 

May  not  the  counterpart  of  this  happen  in  our 
own  experience  ?  We  may  be  feeling  that  cer- 
tain trials  are  insupportable,  or  certain  demands 
beyond  our  power  to  meet.  At  such  hours  of 
bitter  anguish  it  is  quite  permissible  for  us  to  go 
into  the  secret  place  of  the  Most  High  and 
gasp  out  our  complaint,  saying,  ''Ah,  Lord 
God  !  "  God  invites  us  to  speak  freely  with  Him 
thus,  and  sends  gracious  mitigations  of  our 
griefs.  "Ah,  Lord  God,"  we  say,  "let  this  cup 
pass  from  me":  and,  lo  !  an  angel  is  sent  to 
strengthen  us.  "Ah,  Lord  God,"  we  cry, 
"  this  cross  is  too  heavy ;  this  thorn  in  the  flesh  too 
sharp  ;  this  diet  too  nauseous  "  :  and  immediately 
there  is  some  response  of  greater  grace  or  light- 
ened burden. 

Oh,  suffering  child  of  God,  get  alone  with 
Him,  and  talk  freely.  Do  not  hesitate  to  tell 
Him  all  that  is  in  thine  heart.  Remember  that 
Jesus  said  that  tlie  Father  Himself  loves  us.  We 
may  go  to  that  Father-heart,  confiding  to  it  how 
much  we  are  suffering,  not  for  ourselves  only,  but 
for  their  sakes  who  are  dearer  to  us  than  life.  Oh 
that  they  were  happy,  satisfied,  safe  !  Has  the 
duty  become  lately  more  than  ever  difficult  ?  Has 
the  smart  become  like  a  cancer  with  its  venom  ? 
Take  it  to  God  !  It  is  a  sublime  moment  when 
the  soul  dares  to  plead  its  cause  with  God,  say- 
ing, "Ah,  Lord  God!" 
127 


/  will  do  in  thee  that  which  I  have  not  done. 

Ezek.  V.  g. 

IT  is  an  awful  thing  when  those  who  have 
sinned  against  conspicuous  privilege  and  opportu- 
nity come  under  the  rod.  Their  punishment  is 
infinitely  heavier  than  that  of  such  as  have  never 
known.  The  servant  that  knows  his  Lord's  will, 
and  does  it  not,  is  condemned  to  be  beaten  with 
many  stripes.  It  was  because  Capernaum  had 
been  exalted  to  heaven  that  she  was  cast  down  to 
Hades.  If  an  archangel  falls,  it  must  be  to 
hell. 

The  child  of  God,  like  Israel,  is  set  in  the 
midst  of  the  nations  to  testify  to  pure  and  un- 
defiled  religion ;  but  if  he  rebels  against  God's 
judgments  and  statutes  in  doing  wickedly,  his 
chastisement  is  necessarily  in  proportion  to  the 
eminence  of  his  former  privileges.  God  cannot 
afford  to  deal  lightly  with  the  sin  of  His  own 
people.  Were  He  to  do  so.  He  might  be  accused 
of  partiality,  and  they  might  presume.  Well 
may  the  author  of  "Imitation"  say,  ''Esteem 
not  thyself  better  than  others,  lest  perhaps  in  the 
sight  of  God,  who  knoweth  what  is  in  man,  thou 
be  accounted  worse  than  they," 

It  becomes  us  to  search  our  hearts  to  see  if  we 
are  rejecting  any  of  God's  judgments,  and  re- 
fusing to  walk  in  His  will,  or  defiling  His  sanctuary 
with  detestable  things.  A  small  black  spot  on  a 
white  ground  is  more  noticeable  than  a  larger  one 
on  a  dark  ground.  A  slight  inconsistency  in 
His  child  may  lead  to  very  heavy  chastisements 
on  the  part  of  the  Father  in  heaven.  The 
nearer  a  pupil  reaches  toward  perfection,  the 
sterner  is  his  master's  discipline.  Judgment  be- 
gins at  the  house  of  God.  If  thou  wert  not 
capable  of  a  rich  fruitage,  He  would  not  take 
such  pains  with  thee.  Humble  thyself  under 
His  mighty  hand  :  He  will  exalt  thee  in  due 
time. 

128 


/  have  been  broken  with  their  whorish  heart. 
And  they  shall  loathe  the?nselves. 

Ezek.  vi.  9  (R.  v.). 

WE  never  realize  what  sin  is  till  its  passion  is 
over,  and  we  have  time  quietly  to  remember. 
Oh,  the  terror  of  those  hours  of  remembrance 
and  remorse  !  Sitting  in  the  captivity  of  its 
prison,  or  serving  in  the  heavy  bondage  of  its 
fetters,  the  soul  has  time  to  review  the  bitter 
path  by  which  it  has  come  to  such  a  pass,  and 
the  way  it  has  broken  the  hearts  of  those  who 
loved  and  trusted.  But  the  most  terrible  ele- 
ment in  remorse  will  be  the  personal  one : 
"  Shall  remember  Me." 

One  of  our  great  writers  depicts  a  heartless, 
thoughtless  husband  standing  beside  the  newly 
covered-in  grave  of  his  wife,  and  saying,  **Ah, 
Milly,  Milly;  dost  thou  hear  me?  I  was  not 
tender  enough  to  thee ;  but  it  is  too  late  to  alter 
it  now."  The  wife  who  has  broken  away  from 
her  husband,  bringing  desolation  on  a  once 
happy  home,  and  heart-break  on  the  one  she 
really  loved,  will  have  her  time  of  remorse  when 
she  remembers  him,  and  how  he  was  broken  by 
her  sin.  And  she  will  loathe  herself.  The  child 
who  has  given  way  to  fits  of  ungovernable  pas- 
sion, which  have  broken  up  the  home,  and 
brought  down  grey  hairs  with  sorrow  to  the 
grave,  will  loathe  itself.  Similarly,  as  we  re- 
view our  past  life,  and  see  how  we  must  have 
grieved  the  tender  Spirit  of  God,  we  fall  at  the 
feet  of  Jesus  and  cover  them  with  tears  and  kisses. 

What  a  marvellous  word  is  this!  "I  have 
been  broken."  Our  sin  can  give  God  the  heart- 
break, because  He  loves  us  so.  Indeed,  on  the 
Cross  the  Lord  died  of  a  broken  heart ;  of  this 
the  issuing  stream  of  blood  and  water  was  the 
sign.  O  heart  of  stone,  thou  too  must  break  and 
loathe  thyself,  when  thou  seest  thy  Lord  broken 
by  thy  sin  ! 

129 


Their  silver  and  their  gold  .  .   .  shall  not  satisfy 
their  souls.  Ezek.  vii.  ig. 

THIS  chapter  is  full  of  alarms  !  An  end  :  the 
end  is  come!  (ver.  2).  An  evil,  an  only  evil : 
behold  it  cometh.  An  end  is  come ;  the  end  is 
come  (vers.  5,  6).  The  time  is  come;  the  day 
is  near  (ver.  7).  Behold  the  day,  behold  it 
cometh ;  thy  doom  is  gone  forth  (ver.  10). 
The  time  is  come  (ver.  12).  At  such  a  crisis, 
what  can  silver  and  gold  do  ?  Let  not  the  buyer 
rejoice,  nor  the  seller  mourn.  None  shall  re- 
turn. The  sword  is  without ;  pestilence  and  fam- 
ine within. 

Generally  silver  and  gold  stand  for  much 
among  the  children  of  men ;  they  are  the  keys 
to  the  unlocking  of  the  treasures  of  life.  But 
when  the  supreme  crises  come ;  when  all  hands 
are  feeble,  and  all  knees  weak  as  water ;  when 
the  day  of  the  wrath  of  the  Lord  breaks — there 
is  no  help  in  silver  and  gold  ;  they  cannot  satisfy 
or  save. 

Men  forget  that  they  are  destined  for  immor- 
tality ;  and  that  God  hath  set  Eternity  in  their 
hearts.  How  utterly  impotent  gold  and  silver, 
the  things  of  earth,  the  abundance  of  goods 
which  a  man  may  store  in  his  barn,  to  appease 
the  conscience,  or  arrest  the  remorseless  hunger 
of  the  soul  for  peace  and  purity  and  satisfaction  ! 
He  is  the  happiest  who  is  largely  independent  of 
these  things,  and  lives  a  pilgrim  life,  reckoning 
that  his  enduring  city  is  with  God,  whose  treas- 
ures are  heavenly  and  incorruptible.  It  is  a 
great  misfortune  that  professing  Christians  have 
failed  to  realize  this.  Too  many  of  them  are  as 
eager  to  maintain  and  extend  their  establish- 
ments, as  though  life  consisted  in  the  abundance 
of  what  they  possess.  So  missionary  causes 
dwindle  for  want  of  funds ;  children  are  drawn 
into  worldly  alliances;  and  worldlings  depreci- 
ate our  holy  religion. 

130 


Chambers  of  imagery. 

Ezek.  viii.  12, 

WHAT  disclosures  were  these  !  In  the  entry 
to  the  Temple  court  stood  the  great  idol,  here 
described  as  an  image  of  jealousy;  because, 
speaking  after  the  manner  of  men,  it  greatly 
provoked  the  Eternal  Spouse  of  Israel !  The 
seventy  elders  engaged  in  worshipping  every 
form  of  creeping  things  and  abominable  beasts, 
portrayed  on  the  walls  of  the  secret  chambers  ! 
The  women  weeping  for  Tammuz,  whose  yearly 
death  and  resurrection  were  celebrated  with  li- 
centious orgies  !  The  five-and-twenty  men  with 
their  backs  toward  the  Temple  !  Is  it  to  be 
wondered  at  that  God  could  not  spare,  nor  have 
pity  ? 

But  are  there  no  chambers  of  imagery  in  our 
natures,  which  were  meant  to  be  the  sanctuary 
of  the  eternal?  Is  it  quite  certain  that  evil 
thoughts  and  imaginations  have  not  imprinted 
themselves  on  the  walls  of  the  heart?  Ah,  it 
may  be  so.  What  seems  fair  and  beautiful  in 
the  eye  of  man  may  be  concealing  terrible  se- 
crets, open  only  to  that  of  God.  In  the  secret  of 
our  hearts,  we  permit  unclean  birds  to  brood ;  in 
the  darkness  of  our  soul,  wild  thoughts  wander 
at  will.  What  need  there  is  to  adopt  the  ven- 
erable and  touching  words:  **  Cleanse  the 
thoughts  of  our  hearts  by  the  inspiration  of  Thy 
Holy  Spirit,  that  we  may  perfectly  love  Thee." 

There  is  deliverance  from  all  this,  by  the  grace 
and  through  the  blood  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  He  can 
save  and  keep.  He  can  so  fill  the  soul  with  His 
presence  that  sin  shall  be  utterly  abhorrent.  We 
may  become  so  sensitive  to  the  least  approach  of 
evil  as  to  shelter  ourselves  in  Him,  before  the  first 
symptom  of  temptation  shall  have  gained  force 
and  volume  for  its  attack.  Holy  Spirit,  keep 
Thine  own  temple,  we  pray  Thee  ! 
131 


Come  not  near  any  man  upon  whom  is  the  mark  ; 
and  begin  at  my  sanctuary.  Ezek.  ix.  6. 

ALL  these  visions  were  given,  as  we  learn 
from  the  first  chapter,  as  Ezekiel  was  with  the 
earlier  groups  of  Hebrew  captives  in  Babylon. 
His  thoughts  were  greatly  engrossed  by  what  was 
transpiring  in  the  beloved  city  among  the  rem- 
nant still  residing  there.  The  six  men  repre- 
sented judgments  yet  impending,  in  the  man 
clothed  in  linen  with  the  unknown,  the  discrim- 
inating righteousness  of  God's  judgments. 

Judgment  begins  with  the  house  of  God ;  with 
those  of  us  who  are  called  to  teach  and  preach, 
and  bear  office  in  the  Church.  The  six  men 
who  had  the  slaughter-weapons  began  at  the 
elders,  described  in  the  previous  chapter,  who 
were  before  the  house.  If  any  such  are  living  in 
sin,  God's  judgment  must  fall  first  and  more 
heavily  on  them,  because  they  know  better  and 
profess  more  than  others.  But  let  it  be  remem- 
bered always  that  repentance  and  the  putting 
away  of  sin  will  always  avert  the  sword.  "If 
thou  wilt  put  away  thine  abominations,  then  thou 
shalt  not  remove." 

Amid  scenes  of  judgment,  whether  in  the 
Church  or  the  world,  there  is  always  a  remnant, 
upon  whom  is  the  mark  ;  on  Lot  in  Sodom  ;  on 
Israel  amid  the  plagues  of  Egypt ;  on  Rahab  in 
the  fall  of  Jericho;  on  the  144,000  at  the  Great 
Tribulation.  They  are  safe  amid  the  fiery  indig- 
nation which  devours  the  adversaries.  Have  we 
been  touched  by  the  blood,  sealed  by  the  Spirit, 
and  branded  with  the  mark  of  the  brand  of 
Jesus?  Without  doubt  we  have,  if  we  know 
what  it  is  to  sigh  and  cry  for  the  abominations 
that  are  wrought  around  us,  and  of  which  our 
own  nature  is  capable,  except  for  the  grace  of 
God.  These  are  the  signs  which  indicate  the 
humbling,  sanctifying  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in 
our  hearts. 

132 


Thg  glory  of  the  Lord  went  forth  from  over  the 
threshold f  and  stood  over  the  cherubim. 

Ezek.  X.  i8. 

THE  gradual  withdrawal  of  God  from  His 
house  is  described  in  vivid  and  awful  minute- 
ness. In  ix.  3,  it  had  gone  to  the  threshold ;  x. 
4,  it  had  mounted  up;  15,  the  cherubim  mounted 
up  ;  xi.  23,  it  passes  from  the  city.  It  is  well 
worth  our  while  to  ponder  this  deep  and  search- 
ing lesson.  The  light  of  other  days  fades  but 
slowly  :  the  year  sinks  by  almost  insensible  grada- 
tions to  the  fall  of  the  leaf;  grey  hairs  besprinkle 
our  heads  without  our  knowing  it ;  before  ever 
we  are  aware  of  it,  the  train  has  borne  us  miles 
off  the  main  line  to  the  wrong  station.  So  gradu- 
ally our  hearts  may  backslide.  Satan  is  too  know- 
ing to  lead  us  at  a  single  leap  into  the  precipice, 
but  conducts  us  by  a  gradual  incline.  A  little 
less  Bible  reading;  a  slight  slackening  in  watch- 
fulness and  prayer  ;  an  imperceptible  drift  world- 
wards. 

But  turn  to  xliii.  2-4.  The  glory  of  the  Lord 
returned  to  the  renovated  temple.  Like  the  dawn 
of  a  new  day ;  like  the  sound  of  many  waters,  it 
came,  it  came.  *'  This,"  God  said,  "  is  the  place 
of  My  throne;  .  .  .  and  the  house  of  Israel  shall 
no  more  defile."  Ah,  backslider,  God  will  come 
back  to  thee  again.  Thy  repentance  may  be  most 
inadequate ;  but  if  it  be  genuine,  if  thou  dost  truly 
turn  to  Him  from  thy  sin,  thy  heart  shall  again 
become  irradiate  with  His  most  blessed  of  holy 
light.      , 

Without  forcing,  these  words  are  also  applica- 
ble to  that  coming  for  which  we  wait  and  long; 
when  He  who  ascended  shall  descend  again  to 
be  in  us  and  with  us  forever : 

"  Hark !  what  a  sound,  and  too  divine  for  hearing, 
Stirs  on  the  earth  and  trembles  in  the  air ! 
It  is  the  thunder  of  the  Lord's  appearing ! 
It  is  the  music  of  His  peoples'  prayer! " 
133 


Yet  will  I  be  to  thejfi  a  little  sa?ictuary  iti  the 
countries  before  they  are  come.  Ezek.  xi.  i6. 

AWAY  from  the  outward  ordinances  and  the 
material  edifice,  the  exiles  would  find  more  than 
the  equivalent  in  God  Himself.  He  would  give 
them  the  reality,  of  which  there  had  been  the 
outward  and  visible  emblems.  Amid  all  their 
justly-deserved  sufferings  they  would  find  a  deep 
fountain  of  spiritual  blessing  and  comfort  in  God's 
presence. 

To  those  who  are  deprived  of  the  means  of  grace. 
— Sufferers  in  sick  rooms,  travellers  in  lonely  and 
distant  places,  missionaries  amongst  the  heathen. 
How  often  to  such  comes  the  vision  of  the  coun- 
try church,  when  the  summer  air  stole  into  the 
open  window,  bringing  the  breath  of  flowers;  or 
of  the  great  City  church,  with  the  well-known 
voice  of  a  beloved  minister.  They  long  for  these 
again.     But  God  will  be  all  and  more. 

To  those  who  caniiot  derive  benefit  from  the 
services  they  attend. — The  clergyman  is  Ritual- 
istic, or  the  Free-church  minister  is  broad  in  his 
views,  and  unsympathetic  with  the  deeper  moods 
of  the  spirit.  Still,  it  may  be  your  duty  to  at- 
tend for  example's  sake ;  but  whilst  waiting  be- 
fore the  Lord,  He  will  draw  near  and  become 
your  sanctuary. 

To  those  who  are  exposed  to  danger  and  perse- 
cution.— In  the  olden  time  the  sanctuary  was  a 
place  of  refuge.  All  who  fled  thither  were  in 
safeguard.  So,  let  the  driven  soul  haste  to  the 
folds  of  the  Tabernacle  of  God's  presence.  None 
can  pursue  it  into  that  secret  place.  No  weapon 
shall  smite ;  and  even  envying  voices  shall  die 
into  subdued  murmurs. 

He  that  eateth  the  living  bread — that  confess- 
eth  Jesus  to  be  the  Christ — thatkeepeth  His  com- 
mandments— and  that  lives  in  love — dwells  in 
God  as  his  sanctuary,  while  God  dwells  in  him 
as  His. 

134 


The  word  that  I  shall  speak  shall  be  performed : 
it  shall  be  no  more  deferred.         Ezek.  xU.  2^,  28. 

IN  various  ways  the  people  of  Israel  were  en- 
deavoring to  minimize  the  effects  of  Ezekiel's 
denunciations  of  judgment.  They  did  not  deny 
that  he  spoke  the  word  of  God ;  but  comforted 
themselves  with  the  reflection  that  it  was  not 
likely  to  be  fulfilled  for  some  time  yet.  "The 
vision  that  he  seeth  is  for  many  days  to  come." 
God,  on  the  other  hand,  said,  "It  shall  be  no 
more  deferred." 

We  are  all  disposed  to  remove  the  wonder- 
working of  God  to  the  remote  past  or  the  distant 
future  :  either  that  He  did  miracles  or  will  do 
them.  Heaven  touches  the  earth  at  this  horizon 
or  that;  but  it  is  remote  from  the  place  where  we 
stand.  This  is  the  tendency  of  our  mind  ;  and 
for  this  reason  we  miss  the  manifestations  of 
God's  grace  and  power,  which  wait  to  enrich 
our  lives.  Now  is  the  accepted  time ;  now  the 
day  of  salvation.  As  Christ  is,  so  are  we.  There 
is  as  much  of  Divine  power  and  love  throbbing 
around,  and  within  our  easy  reach,  as  ever  filled 
the  upper  room  at  Pentecost,  or  shall  break  on 
the  world  in  the  millennial  days.  Let  us  not 
postpone  our  appropriation  of  it.  Let  us  never 
permit  the  thought  that  God  is  not  prepared  to 
fulfill  His  promises  here  and  now.  Let  us  not 
lament  over  the  past  as  having  been  better  than 
the  present  can  ever  be  expected  to  be,  nor  pre- 
dict greater  days  for  our  children. 

It  is  here  that  the  distinction  between  fact, 
faith,  and  feeling,  will  help  us.  We  very  sel- 
dom, indeed,  never  until  Spirit-taught,  put  these 
three  in  their  right  order.  We  try  to /<?^/ that 
spiritual  facts  are  so,  instead  of  accepting  that 
they  are,  and  daring  to  act  as  if  they  were  patent 
to  physical  sensations.  A  spiritual  fact  is  true, 
even  when  you  do  not  believe  or  feel  it.  Believe  ! 
act !  and  you  will  come  to  feel. 
135 


Prophesy  against  the  prophets  of  Israel  .   .   .   that 
prophesy  out  of  their  own  hearts.      Ezek.  xiii.  2. 

IT  is  a  great  temptation  to  those  of  us  who  are 
often  called  to  speak  for  God,  to  prophesy  out  of 
our  own  heart,  to  follow  our  own  spirit,  and  to 
profess  to  see  what  we  have  not  seen.  We  are 
apt  to  say,  "The  Lord  saith,"  when  the  Lord 
hath  not  sent  us.  These  words  of  ours  always 
tend  toward  soothing  and  pacifying  guilty  con- 
sciences with  assurances  of  peace,  peace.  You 
may  always  tell  when  a  man  is  speaking  from  the 
vanity  of  his  own  heart.  He  glozes  over  sin,  and 
speaks  with  bated  breath  of  its  consequences. 

This  is  what  the  Word  of  God  describes  as 
daubing  a  slight  wall  with  untempered  mortar, 
and  sewing  pillows  on  elbows  for  handfuls  of 
barley  and  pieces  of  bread.  The  daubing  makes 
the  wall  look  as  strong  as  possible,  but  it  cannot- 
save  it  from  collapsing  before  the  overflowing 
shower  of  God's  judgment  and  the  great  hail- 
stones of  His  wrath.  The  pillows  may  save  the 
flesh  from  chafing,  but  cannot  avert  the  blows  of 
a  broken  law.  Oh,  take  care,  lest  ye  give  men 
license  to  sin,  by  the  slight  views  ye  circulate  of 
its  nature  or  penalty.  Are  not  these  lying  divina- 
tions? Do  they  not  grieve  the  heart  of  the  right- 
eous, and  strengthen  the  hands  of  the  wicked  ? 
Take  care  lest  the  fate  of  the  daubing  be  the  fate 
also  of  the  false  prophets:  "The  wall  is  no 
more;  neither  they  that  daubed  it." 

It  is  not  an  easy  thing  to  speak  to  the  prophets. 
But  how  necessary  that  there  should  be  a  Prophet 
to  prophets  :  for  these  get  into  the  way  of  suppos- 
ing that  they  must  be  right,  whose  least  word  is 
so  reverenced  by  their  people.  "  You  are  very 
fond  of  preaching,"  said  Dr.  Andrew  Bonar  to 
one  to  whom  he  had  been  listening.  "Yes, 
doctor;  very."  "But  are  you  as  fond  of  lost 
souls?" 

136 


Ye  shall  he  comforted  concerning  the  evil  that  I 
have  brought  upon  Jerusalem.  Ezek,  xiv.  22. 

THE  sin  of  Jerusalem  was  so  heinous  that  God 
was  constrained  to  send  on  her  His  four  sore 
judgments  all  at  once  and  together.  Each  alone 
was  so  terrible  that  Noah,  Daniel,  and  Job,  had 
they  been  living,  would  only  have  succeeded  in 
saving  their  own  souls ;  but  how  much  more  when 
they  befell  the  land  unitedly !  But,  Jehovah 
says,  ye  shall  come  to  know,  when  you  review  My 
work  from  the  vantage-ground  of  the  years,  that 
I  have  not  done  without  cause  (or  in  vain, 
marg.)  all  that  I  have  done  (ver.  23).  Ye  shall 
be  comforted,  when  a  remnant  of  sons  and 
daughters  escapes,  who  see  and  acknowledge 
their  sinful  ways  and  deeds. 

Those  words  deserve  to  be  carefully  pondered. 
They  seem  to  contain  the  very  essence  of  God's 
thoughts  in  His  dealings  with  us  during  the  pres- 
ent age.  "Ye  shall  know  that  I  have  not  done 
without  cause  all  that  I  have  done  "  (ver.  23). 
We  do  not  know  the  cause  of  so  much  that 
crushes  us  to  the  ground.  But  if  we  did  know  it 
as  well  as  we  shall  know  it  some  day,  we  should 
have  no  difficulty  in  reconciling  God's  dealings 
with  His  perfect  love. 

Yes,  some  day  we  shall  be  comforted  !  Com- 
forted as  to  God's  meaning  in  our  sorrows  and 
trials  !  Comforted  as  to  His  dealings  with  our 
dear  ones  !  Comforted  about  His  government  of 
the  whole  universe,  of  which  the  world  is  part ! 
We  shall  see  that  there  was  a  cause  or  reason  for 
all  God's  stern  discipline.  We  shall  admit  that 
it  was  wisely  adapted  to  its  end,  and  achieved  it. 
We  are  too  prone  to  judge  God  hastily  and  su- 
perficially, instead  of  waiting  to  see  the  "  end  of 
the  Lord,"  when  all  His  reasons  and  purposes 
will  be  explained  from  the  great  white  throne 
(see  Rev.  xv.  3). 

137 


What  is  the  vine  tree  more  than  any  tree  ? 

Ezek.  XV.  2. 

WHAT  is  the  vine  good  for  ?  Will  it  bear 
comparison  with  the  trees  of  the  forest?  Do 
men  make  chairs,  tables,  house-roofs  out  of  it ! 
No,  they  will  not  make  even  a  pin  for  hanging 
vessels  on,  out  of  the  vine- wood.  There  is  only 
one  use  for  the  vine — to  bear  fruit.  If  it  fails  to 
do  that,  it  may  as  well  be  cast  at  once  to  the 
flames.  Then  it  is  still  more  useless;  and  as  we 
gather  the  charred  pieces  together,  we  realize  that 
they  are  hardly  worth  our  care. 

So  with  believers.  Like  Israel,  they  are  God's 
vine,  created  in  Christ  Jesus  unto  fruit-bearing. 
The  one  purpose  and  end  of  their  redemption 
and  salvation  is  that  they  should  bring  forth  fruit 
unto  God ;  and  if  they  fail  in  this,  after  having 
been  pruned  and  enriched  in  every  way,  they  are 
cast  forth  as  worthless  and  unprofitable,  and  men 
gather  them  and  cast  them  into  the  fire,  and  they 
are  burned.  Savorless  salt  is  good  for  nothing  : 
fruitless  vines  are  utterly  useless  :  professors  who 
bear  no  fruit  are  worse  than  useless,  they  cumber 
the  ground.  Let  us  abide  in  Christ,  that  He 
may  bear  fruit  through  us.  Let  us  be  willing  for 
all  the  pruning  and  discipline  which  God  is 
pleased  to  send  us,  that  we  may  bring  forth  more 
fruit ;  but  let  it  ever  be  borne  in  mind  that  fruit- 
fulness  does  not  always  mean  activity,  but  the 
bearing  of  the  sweet  fruits  of  the  Spirit,  which 
consist  largely  in  temper  and  disposition. 

Apart  from  Christ,  how  helpless  and  worthless 
we  are  !  Let  us  often,  and  particularly  when 
tempted  to  vanity,  conceit,  self-sufficiency,  self- 
satisfaction,  remember  that  we  are  only  vine- 
branches,  of  no  intrinsic  worth,  and  only  useful 
when  the  sap  of  the  vine  is  passing  through  us. 
"  What  hast  thou,  that  thou  didst  not  receive?  " 
(i  Cor.  iv.  7). 

138 


//  was  perfect  through  My  comeliness  ^  which  I 
had  put  upon  thee.  Ezek.  xvi.  14. 

HOW  rich  this  chapter  is  in  spiritual  signifi- 
cance for  ourselves  !  We,  too,  were  born  in  the 
land  of  the  Canaanite — our  father  the  first  Adam  ; 
our  mother  Eve.  There  was  no  beauty  in  us  by- 
nature,  but  everything  to  cause  abhorrence  to  the 
Holy  God.  And  if  we  are  washed  and  clothed, 
decked  with  gold  and  silver,  arrayed  in  fine 
linen,  silk,  and  embroidered  work,  eating  fine 
flour,  and  honey,  and  oil,  exceedingly  beautiful 
and  arrayed  in  royal  estate,  it  is  all  of  grace — of 
the  exceeding  and  eternal  grace  of  God.  There 
is  nothing  of  it  at  all  in  which  we  can  boast 
ourselves.  Of  Him  are  we  in  Christ  Jesus, 
through  whom  we  are  what  we  are.  We  are  per- 
fect only  through  His  comeliness  which  He  has 
put  upon  us. 

First,  let  us  dare  to  believe  that  it  is  so.  Ac- 
cept and  value  your  position.  In  Christ,  we  are 
more  than  tolerated ;  we  are  loved.  We  are 
more  than  forgiven  ;  we  are  arrayed  in  fair  gar- 
ments. The  King  greatly  delights  in  us.  In 
His  eyes,  and  because  His  beauty  is  upon  us,  we 
are  all  fair.  The  joy  that  the  Father  has  in 
Jesus,  He  has  in  us  who  are  in  Him.  We  may  be 
deeply  conscious  of  our  sinnership;  but  He  doth 
not  behold  iniquity  in  Jacob,  nor  see  perverseness 
in  Israel.  We  need  not  shrink  to  take  our  place 
even  among  the  holy  ones  of  the  Presence-cham- 
ber, because  we  are  accepted  in  the  Beloved,  and 
clad  in  His  comeliness. 

But,  next,  let  us  not  presume.  We  have 
nought  of  our  own.  When  the  temptation  tries 
us  to  pride  ourselves  on  our  goodness ;  to  arrogate 
to  ourselves  a  special  position  because  of  our  su- 
periority to  others ;  to  assume  that  we  can  be  in- 
dependent of  our  immortal  Lover — then  let  us 
remember  what  we  were. 
139 


All  fowl  of  every  wing. 

Ezek.  xvii.  2j. 

THE  cedar  is  a  royal  tree.  It  thrives  6,000 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  concentric 
rings  of  one  tree  showed  that  it  was  3,500  years 
old.  What  a  contrast  between  the  long-lived, 
deep-rooted,  broad-branched  tree,  and  the  little 
birds  that  nest  among  the  leaves  ! 

The  text  suggests  that  Christ  is  the  cedar,  and 
all  kinds  of  people  seek  rest  in  Him,  as  birds  of 
every  wing.  Young  and  old,  rich  and  poor ;  men 
high-soaring  as  the  eagle,  fierce  as  the  raven, 
gentle  as  the  dove.  The  young,  just  learning  to 
try  their  wings;  the  old,  weary,  and  lonely; 
those  who  have  kept  all  the  commandments  from 
their  youth,  and  those  who  have  broken  them 
all. 

It  does  not  matter  with  what  wing  we  come  to 
Jesus,  so  long  as  we  come.  The  practiced  eye 
can  easily  recognize  the  birds  by  their  flight;  each 
bird  has  its  own  wing ;  so  every  soul  has  its  own 
disposition  and  temperament — one  feverish,  the 
other  languid  and  lethargic ;  one  impetuous,  the 
other  dilatory;  one  affectionate  and  warm,  the 
other  cool  and  shy.  But  the  Lord  Jesus  knows 
our  frame,  and  understands  us  afar  off.  He  does 
not  chide  the  dove  because  it  cannot  breast  the 
storm  and  face  the  sun  like  the  eagle.  He  does 
not  expect  the  sustained  flight  of  the  seagull 
from  the  sparrow ;  or  the  song  of  the  nightingale 
from  the  chaffinch. 

Do  not  imitate  another  ;  be  yourself.  Do  not 
go  about  the  world  counting  that  you  are  useless 
and  a  failure,  because  you  cannot  do  what  is  done 
by  others.  Learn  how  to  be  abased,  and  how  to 
abound.  Only  rest  in  Christ.  Out  of  the  windy 
storm  and  tempest,  make  for  your  roosting-place 
under  the  shelter  of  His  wing. 
140 


Behold f  all  souls  are  Mine, 

Ezek.  xviii.  4. 

THIS  is  bed-rock.  Let  us  ever  get  down  to 
the  beginnings  of  things,  when  we  state  God's 
claims  on  men.  Instead  of  only  pleading  with 
them,  let  us  boldly  assert  God's  claims  upon 
them.  All  souls  are  His :  of  the  African  as  of 
the  European;  of  the  heathen  as  well  as  of 
the  Christian  born;  of  the  toiling,  sorrowing, 
sinning,  as  of  those  that  stand  in  the  sunlit 
circle. 

His  by  right  of  creation.  **  He  made  us,  and 
we  are  His."  Has  not  a  man  a  claim  on  all  that 
his  hands  have  made  ?  and  has  God  less  ?  His 
by  right  of  redemption.  To  any  man  we  have  the 
privilege  of  saying,  <'You  have  been  purchased 
by  the  precious  blood  of  Christ."  His  by  the 
right  of  His  own  holy  and  glorious  Nature.  Not 
to  own  Him  and  love  Him  supremely  is  a  gross 
violation  of  the  eternal  fitness  of  things.  The 
parent  has  a  claim  on  his  child. 

Needest  thou  fear  anything,  fellow  Christian, 
since  thou  art  His?  Though  thou  goest  forth 
alone  into  the  wilderness,  where  there  seems  no 
spring,  no  food;  though  thou  hast  no  visible 
means  of  sustenance  through  no  fault  of  thine ; 
though  thou  shalt  be  called  to  pass  to-day  out  of 
this  world  into  the  unseen  :  since  thou  art  God's, 
is  He  not  responsible  for  thee?  Will  an  owner 
allow  his  house  to  fall  out  of  repair,  or  his  beasts 
to  lack  food  and  tendance?  Will  God  not  tend, 
maintain,  nurture,  and  cherish  thee?  Would  it 
not  be  to  His  discredit  if  He  were  careless  of 
thee.  His  own  ?  The  fact  of  thy  bearing  His 
mark  and  stamp  upon  thee  is  guarantee  enough 
of  His  obligation  to  be  a  God  to  thee.  Let 
Him  do  with  us  as  He  please.  Surely  we  can 
perfectly  trust  Him ;  He  is  well  within  His 
rights. 

141 


This  is  a  lamentation  ^  and  shall  be  for  a  lamen" 
tation.  Ezek.  xix.  I  and  14. 

THIS  chapter  is  a  dirge ;  first  over  two  kings 
of  the  house  of  David,  Jehoahaz  and  Jehoiachim, 
who,  like  wild  beasts,  had  been  carried  off,  the 
former  to  Egypt,  the  latter  by  the  Chaldeans ; 
and  then  over  the  whole  royal  fanaily,  described 
under  the  figure  of  a  wasted  vine,  humbled  and 
almost  destroyed. 

We,  too,  may  lament  for  the  sufferings  and 
sorrows  of  our  King.  The  Holy  Spirit  would 
not  have  us  forget  them ;  because  our  sin-laden 
and  wounded  hearts  can  only  become  healed  by 
pressing  against  His  wounds  who  was  pierced  by 
the  nails  and  the  spear.  "Consider  Him  that 
endured  such  contradiction  of  sinners  against 
Himself" — the  agony  and  bloody  sweat;  the 
cross  and  passion ;  the  scorn  and  reviling ;  the 
contradiction  of  sinners ;  and  the  malice  of  Satan. 
And  as  the  full  measure  of  His  sufferings  is  un- 
folded to  us  we  shall  weep  and  lament ;  not  for 
Him,  but  for  ourselves  and  for  our  children. 

That  our  sins  nailed  Him  to  the  cross ;  that 
our  guilt  extorted  from  His  heart  the  cry  that  He 
was  forsaken;  that  His  prolonged  agony  was 
borne  in  our  stead,  and  borne  for  nothing  else 
than  for  love  of  us ;  that  we  have  grieved  Him 
so,  torn  open  His  wounds,  and  added  to  His 
pains,  by  our  rebellion  and  ingratitude ;  that  the 
chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon  Him,  and 
that  we  have  been  healed  only  by  His  stripes. 
Here  is  subject  for  lamentation  indeed  ! 

But  it  is  strange  that  the  remembrance  of  all 
this  brings  strength,  and  solace,  and  peace.  As 
Bunyan  says,  "  He  hath  given  us  rest  by  His 
sorrow."  The  bitterness  of  His  sorrows  alter- 
nately makes  us  sad  and  blessed.  Sad  that  we 
brought  Him  such  a  heritage  of  woe  :  happy  that 
since  He  has  suffered,  we  are  forever  emancipated 
from  what  had  crushed  us. 
142 


We  will  be  as  the  7iations,  as  the  families  of  the 
countries,  to  serve  wood  and  stone. 

Ezek.  XX.  J-?  (R.  v.). 

THERE  was  a  tendency  among  the  chosen 
people  to  reason  thus  :  Why  should  we  be  per- 
petually reminded  of  the  claims  of  Jehovah? 
Why  should  we  not  do  as  we  please  ?  Why  not 
do  as  other  nations  around,  who  select  their  own 
deities,  and  do  not  seem  to  suffer  as  we  do  ?  Nay, 
said  the  Most  High,  that  cannot  be.  When  once 
I  have  entered  into  covenant  relations  with  any, 
they  cannot  lightly  cast  off  those  sacred  bonds. 
My  name  and  character  are  too  deeply  implicated. 
I  must  work  for  my  holy  Name's  sake,  that  it  may 
not  be  polluted  (vers.  9,  14,  22). 

It  is  a  very  solemn  thing  to  have  become  God's 
children.  Sin  is  not  the  same  in  us  as  in  others. 
In  those  it  may  be  slightly  passed  over,  but  in  us 
it  will  be  visited  with  many  stripes.  We  cannot 
sin  with  impunity,  nor  do  as  we  list.  As  far  as 
we  go  into  sin,  we  shall  have  to  come  out  of  it. 
The  more  pleasure  we  may  have  had  in  forbidden 
paths,  the  more  sharp  the  anguish  through  which 
we  shall  have  to  retrace  our  steps.  We  cannot 
be  as  the  nations.  We  cannot  serve  wood  and 
stone.     We  cannot  go  our  own  way. 

But  the  thought  cuts  in  two  directions ;  if  we 
are  bound  to  God,  He  is  also  bound  to  us.  We 
may  not  leave  Him,  but  He  cannot  leave  us! 
He  will  always  be  mindful  of  His  covenant. 
There  is  one  plea  with  God  that  never  fails : 
"Do  it  for  Thy  great  Name's  sake."  He  cannot 
deny  Himself,  or  allow  His  honor  to  be  trampled 
in  the  mud. 

"  Yes — howsoe'er  I  stray  and  range, 
Whate'er  I  do,  Thou  dost  not  change ; 
I  steadier  step,  when  I  recall 
That,  if  I  slip.  Thou  dost  not  fall." 
143 


//  shall  be  no  morCy  until  He  come  whose  right  it 
is  ;  and  I  will  give  it  Him.  Ezek.  xxi.  bj. 

THIS  prophecy  was  directed  against  Zedekiah 
and  Jerusalem  ;  and  predicts  the  advance  of  Neb- 
uchadnezzar, who  is  represented  as  considering 
an  expedition  against  them  and  Ammon.  What- 
ever the  king  of  Judah  thought  to  establish  by 
his  wit  and  power,  God  would  overthrow.  Noth- 
ing should  stand,  however  carefully  constructed, 
till  the  Messiah  came  to  take  up  the  kingdom  and 
rule  with  meekness  and  righteousness. 

I  will  overturn,  overturn,  overturn.  Our  King 
is  always  engaged  in  destruction,  that  He  may 
the  better  occupy  Himself  with  construction.  He 
overthrows  our  cities  of  brick  that  He  may  build 
them  of  marble.  He  removes  the  things  that  can 
be  shaken,  as  things  that  are  made,  that  the  things 
which  cannot  be  shaken  may  remain.  He  de- 
stroyed the  institutions  of  the  Old  Covenant,  that 
He  might  substitute  the  New.  This  is  the  inner 
meaning  of  the  earthquake  that  so  often  casts 
down  our  lofty  towers. 

That  fortune  which  you  had  built  up  with  so 
much  care  was  overturned,  that  you  might  ac- 
quire the  true  riches.  That  reputation  which 
you  had  established  for  integrity  and  self-re- 
straint was  overturned,  that  you  might  despair  of 
yourself  and  avail  yourself  of  the  provision  made 
for  sinners  in  Jesus.  That  friendship  was  over- 
turned, that  you  might  come  to  the  love  of  God. 

"  He  took  the  silver  and  the  gold, 
To  make  me  rich  in  grace ; 
He  quenched  earth's  lights  that  I  might  see 
The  shining  of  His  Face." 

And  God  will  go  on  with  this  overturning  work 
until  every  high  thing  that  exalts  itself  against 
the  Lord  Jesus  is  thrown  down,  and  He  is  en- 
throned. 

144 


I  will  consume  thy  filthiness  out  of  thee. 

Ezek.  xxii.  75", 

THE  idea  here,  and  in  the  following  para- 
graph, is  of  the  smelting  furnace.  We  are  re- 
fined by  fire.  Fire  is  pain.  It  is  the  symbol  of 
all  that  our  nature  shrinks  from.  But  affliction 
is  all  this.  It  may  be  anxiety  about  money-mat- 
ters ;  or  the  chronic  ill-temper  of  some  member 
of  your  family ;  or  a  random  word ;  or  a  tele- 
graphic message ;  or  a  whispered  secret ;  or  anx- 
iety about  your  health :  but  your  soul  is  filled 
with  fire — keen,  strong,  alive,  devouring.  Do 
not  wonder  at  this ;  for  only  so  can  you  be  de- 
livered from  your  dross  and  filth. 

But  God  appoints  it.  As  much  as  the  process 
of  refining  implies  the  presence  of  the  refiner,  the 
afflictions  of  the  believer  imply  the  presence  and 
purpose  of  the  Lord.  The  process  could  not  be 
carried  on  without  Him.  We  are  sure  that  in 
every  sick  chamber,  where  His  servant  lies,  be- 
sides the  attendant  wife  or  nurse,  sits  the  Great 
Refiner  of  silver ;  closer  than  close ;  nearer  than 
near ;  tenderer  than  the  tenderest.  You  may  not 
see  Him  now;  but  some  day  when  you  look 
back  on  your  present  sufferings,  you  will  under- 
stand, and  say  :  "I  could  not  have  lived  through 
it  had  not  the  Master  been  with  me." 

The  trial  is  a  sign  of  preciousness.  You  do 
not  cast  a  stone  into  the  crucible,  or  winnow 
chaff,  or  prune  a  bramble,  or  put  a  cinder  in  the 
lap-dog's  meal.  So,  when  Jesus  subjects  us  to 
trial,  it  is  only  because,  amid  all  our  dross.  His 
keen  eye  detects  the  precious  gold  which  cost 
Him  Calvary,  and  is  capable  of  becoming  His 
ornament  of  beauty  forever. 

"  Through  the  test  of  sharp  distresses, 
Those  whom  Heaven  most  richly  blesses, 
For  its  joys  are  purified." 
145 


/  will  raise  up  thy  lovers  against  thee,  and  bring 
them  against  thee  on  every  side. 

Ezek.  XX  Hi.  22. 

IT  is  one  sign  of  the  revolution  that  the  teach- 
ing of  Jesus  has  made,  that  the  imagery  of  this 
chapter  is  foreign  to  our  modes  of  thought. 

Spiritual  unfaithfulness  is  constantly  described 
under  metaphors  borrowed  from  the  marriage  re- 
lationship. If  the  soul  wanders  from  God,  He 
is  depicted  as  the  husband  in  whose  heart  the 
fire  of  jealousy  burns ;  while  the  soul  is  com- 
pared to  a  truant  wife.  In  the  text  quoted 
above,  the  analogy  is  followed  still  further ;  and 
the  prophet  asserts  that  it  is  impossible  for  us  to 
be  always  satisfied  with  the  lovers  that  we  have 
chosen,  and  that  our  chastisement  for  wandering 
will  probably  come  through  their  agency. 

There  is  no  lack  of  practical  illustration  of 
this.  If  a  Christian  choose  worldly  prosperity, 
or  his  own  reputation,  or  any  earthly  object 
apart  from  God,  it  is  through  this  that  he  will 
suffer.  The  things  that  he  has  loved  will  be 
raised  up  against  him,  just  as  Israel,  that  had 
dallied  with  Babylon,  was  carried  into  captivity 
to  Babylon.  Of  sinful  and  forbidden  pleasure 
God  will  make  whips  of  scorpions  by  which  to 
drive  us  back  to  Himself. 

What  a  light,  by  force  of  contrast,  is  cast  on 
those  rapturous  words  of  the  apostle,  when  he 
tells  us  that  we  may  be  married  to  that  glorious 
Man,  even  to  Him  that  was  raised  from  the 
dead  !  The  soul  stands  by  to  see  Him  die, 
bathed  in  tears;  but  as  she  beholds  Him  rise, 
she  is  divinely  attracted  to  Him,  conscious  of  a 
profound  affinity,  which  engrosses  and  absorbs 
her  being.  Nothing  will  satisfy  her  then  but 
union  with  His  Spirit.  She  reckons  herself  dead 
to  all  the  old  lovers,  through  the  body  of  Christ, 
but  forever  alive  unto  Him. 
146 


^S"^  /  spake  unto  the  people  in  the  morning :  and 
at  even  my  wife  died.  Ezek.  xxiv.  i8. 

IT  was  a  sudden  stroke  which  befell  the 
prophet's  home.  In  the  morning  the  desire  of 
his  eyes  was  present  to  care  for  him,  and  in  the 
even  she  had  passed  away.  It  is  the  practice  of 
the  Eastern  mourner  to  give  vent  to  heart-rend- 
ing cries;  in  his  case  these  were  forbidden.  He 
might  sigh,  but  not  aloud  (r.  v.).  There  was 
to  be  no  mourning  for  the  dead ;  neither  tears, 
nor  fasting;  because  his  work  was  to  engross 
him;  the  needs  of  the  people  preponderated 
over  personal  anguish ;  and  he  was  called  to  set 
forth  in  his  own  reticence  the  solemn,  tearless 
anguish  with  which  Israel  would  go  into  cap- 
tivity. 

We  are  reminded  of  the  words  of  the  apostle 
in  I  Cor.  vii,,  that  those  who  had  wives  should 
be  as  though  they  had  none  ;  those  that  wept  as 
though  they  wept  not;  because  the  time  was 
short,  and  the  fashion  of  the  world  was  passing 
away. 

In  every  human  experience  there  are  times 
when  the  personal  must  be  subordinated  to  the 
national  and  universal.  We  must  choke  back 
our  sobs,  crush  down  our  almost  uncontrollable 
emotion,  preserve  a  calm  and  tranquil  exterior, 
that  we  may  devote  ourselves  more  earnestly  and 
continuously  to  the  crying  need  of  others.  There 
is  nothing  nobler  than  the  self-restraint  which 
anoints  the  head  and  washes  the  face,  that  it 
may  have  leisure  from  itself  to  do  its  life-work, 
and  to  press  to  its  bosom  those  who  are  suffering 
around.  There  was  a  pretty  illustration  of  this 
in  a  recent  railway  accident,  when  a  little  girl, 
badly  hurt,  insisted  on  being  cared  for  last. 

"  Yet  not  in  solitude  !  if  Christ  anear  me 

Waketh  Him  workers  for  the  great  employ  I 
Oh,  not  in  solitude  !  if  souls  that  hear  me 
Catch  from  my  joyance  the  surprise  of  joy." 

147 


Because  Mo  ah  and  Seir  say,  Judah  is  like  unto 
all  the  nations,  therefore  behold.  .  .   . 

Ezek.  XXV.  8,  g. 

IT  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  the  Hebrew 
prophets  were  such  keen  politicians  in  the  best 
sense.  They  were  always  watching  and  inter- 
preting the  dealings  of  God  in  contemporary 
history.  Mention  of  Moab  and  Seir  is  almost  as 
frequent  as  of  Jerusalem.  I  remember  the  saintly 
Professor  Reynolds  saying,  as  he  opened  the 
morning  paper,  *'Let  us  see  what  our  heavenly 
Father  is  doing  in  the  world." 

As  our  enemies  behold  the  children  of  God, 
they  are  apt  to  suppose  that  there  is  no  differ- 
ence between  them  and  others.  They  cannot 
see  the  Divine  environment  within  which  they 
live,  and  they  suppose  that  they  can  easily  work 
their  will.  They  say,  Behold  these  people  are 
like  other  people;  we  have  but  to  stretch  out 
our  hand,  and  can  spoil  them  as  a  boy  the  nests 
of  spring.  Then  they  discover  that  they  have 
another  to  reckon  with,  and  that  God  will  arise 
to  plead  the  cause  of  His  people  and  to  execute 
judgment  upon  their  oppressors.  Not  in  vain 
did  He  say  to  Abraham,  and  through  him  to  all 
that  believe:  "I  will  bless  him  that  blesseth 
thee,  and  curse  him  that  curseth  thee":  "No 
weapon  that  is  formed  against  thee  shall  prosper." 

We  must  not  presume  on  this.  Strong  as  God 
is  on  our  behalf  toward  our  enemies,  He  is 
equally  so  within  the  circle  of  His  household. 
He  will  not  let  others  hurt  us,  but  He  will  not 
spare  His  children.  He  may  use  others  as  His 
rod,  just  as  at  certain  epochs  of  their  national 
history  He  used  Moab  or  Edom.  But  when  the 
work  of  refining  is  done,  He  will  lay  the  instru- 
ments aside,  and  even  punish,  if  there  has  been 
an  excess  of  malice.  O  child  of  God,  thy  priv- 
ilege and  responsibility  are  immeasurable.  Thou 
art  not  as  others. 

148 


Though  thou  be  sought  for,  yet  shalt  thou  never 
be  found  again^  saith  the  Lord  God. 

Ezek.  xxvi.  21. 

TYRE,  to  the  world  of  her  age,  was  what 
Venice  was  in  the  Middle  Ages,  and  London  to- 
day. She  was  strong  in  the  sea ;  the  carrying 
trade  of  the  world  was  in  her  hands.  Carthage, 
which  was  able  to  conflict  with  Rome,  was  her 
daughter ;  and  the  coasts  of  Cornwall  were  visited 
by  her  merchant  vessels.  In  the  days  of  Ezekiel 
she  was  a  proud  and  populous  city.  But  the 
prophet  predicted  her  approaching  fall.  Her 
songs  would  cease ;  her  walls  would  be  over- 
whelmed in  the  floods  of  armed  men ;  and  the 
rocks  on  which  she  stood  would  be  as  bare  as  be- 
fore a  fisherman's  hut  was  built  on  them.  And 
as  the  prophet  anticipates  the  future,  he  says  that 
her  site  would  be  sought  in  vain  ;  a  prediction  so 
literally  fulfilled  that  it  is  only  of  late  years  that 
careful  research  has  been  able  to  pronounce  where 
Tyre  stood. 

This  chapter  seems  to  underlie  the  description 
given  in  the  Apocalypse  of  the  Fall  of  Babylon, 
when  the  mighty  angel  shall  take  up  a  stone,  like 
a  great  mill-stone,  and  cast  it  into  the  sea ;  when 
all  human  voices  shall  cease  from  her  vast  soli- 
tudes, and  the  grinding  of  the  mill-stone  shall  be 
forever  silent.  So  shall  perish  every  false  sys- 
tem ;  all  mere  traditionalism  and  ritualism ;  all 
that  savors  of  human  pride ;  all  the  blandish- 
ments and  impurities  of  the  unfaithful  Church, 
which  sought  to  turn  men's  hearts  from  God. 

What  a  contrast  to  this  are  the  words  of  Jere- 
miah (1.  20) :  **  In  those  days  the  iniquity  of 
Israel  shall  be  sought  for,  and  there  shall  be 
none  ;  and  the  sins  of  Judah,  and  they  shall  not 
be  found."  Refuse  the  love  of  God,  and  you 
are  doomed  ;  you  will  leave  no  enduring  record. 
Trust  in  Him,  and  your  sins  will  be  blotted  out 
as  if  they  had  never  been. 
149 


The  east  wind  hath  broken  thee  in  the  heart  of 
the  seas.  Ezek.  xxvU.  26  (r.  v.). 

IN  this  splendid  chapter  the  prophet  describes 
Tyre  under  the  image  of  one  of  her  own  merchant 
vessels.  Looking  at  it  simply  as  a  piece  of  com- 
position, what  an  extreme  interest  there  is  in  this 
enumeration  of  the  various  races  which  were  sub- 
ject to  this  mighty  city,  and  the  lands  from  which 
she  drew  her  supplies  !  We  are  reminded  of  the 
far-spreading  colonies  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race. 
We  can  almost  hear  the  noise  of  her  construction 
in  the  earlier  verses,  and  see  fine  linen  hoisted  as 
her  sail,  whilst  she  is  manned  and  piloted  by  her 
statesmen.  Heavily  laden  with  the  choice  mer- 
chandise of  the  East,  she  sails  the  seas,  independ- 
ent of  the  winds  of  heaven,  because  the  galley 
slaves  toil  at  treble  banks  of  oars  on  either  side. 
But  their  rowing  brings  her  into  great  waters ; 
she  encounters  the  east  wind,  which  breaks  her 
in  the  heart  of  the  sea  ;  and  in  one  day,  pilots, 
rowers,  men  of  war,  and  merchandise,  are  lost — 
all  brought  to  silence  in  the  midst  of  the  sea. 
What  a  powerful  conception  of  the  great  ship 
sinking  in  silence  with  all  on  board  !  One  cry ; 
the  waves  meet  over  her;  and  only  a  floating  spar 
tells  where  she  sank. 

So  it  is  with  many  a  life.  The  whole  world  is 
laid  under  contribution  for  its  outfit.  Bashan, 
Chittim,  Egypt,  bring  their  quota;  and  to  all 
appearance,  as  it  glides  from  its  stocks  upon  the 
sea  of  life,  a  fair  voyage  awaits  it,  and  large  ex- 
change of  the  wares  of  human  industry  and 
thought.  But  where  Christ  is  not  the  Pilot,  and 
His  Word  not  the  chart,  the  rowers  bring  it 
into  great  waters,  and  it  is  broken  by  the  east 
wind.  O  mariner  !  see  to  it  that  Christ  is  on 
board ;  for  He  only  can  still  the  tempest  and 
speak  peace,  and  guide  thee  out  of  the  great 
waters. 

150 


Thou  sealest  up  the  smn^fullofwisdoifiy  and  per- 
fect in  beauty.  Ezek.  xxvUi.  12. 

THE  magnificent  words  of  this  chapter  can- 
not be  applicable  merely  to  Tyre.  Behind  that 
mighty  city  the  prophet  beheld  its  Prince,  the 
anointed  cherub  that  covereth  (ver.  14) ;  and  on 
further  investigation  this  can  only  be  the  prince 
of  the  power  of  the  air,  who,  our  Lord  says,  is 
also  the  prince  of  this  world.  When  he  was 
created  he  was  perfect  in  his  ways,  till  unright- 
eousness was  found  in  him  (ver.  15).  But  he 
was  cast  out  of  heaven,  when  his  heart  was  lifted 
up  (ver.  17).  He  said,  I  am  God;  but  as  he 
met  in  conflict  the  Son  of  Man,  he  learned  his 
absolute  inferiority. 

This  association  of  a  comity  with  an  evil  spirit 
is  not  confined  to  this  chapter  only.  It  is  a  fre- 
quent allusion  of  the  Scriptures.  For  instance, 
Daniel  describes  the  Prince  of  Persia  as  hinder- 
ing the  advent  of  Gabriel  to  succor  the  chosen 
people :  whilst  the  apostle  Paul  distinctly  attrib- 
utes the  darkness  of  the  world  to  the  wicked 
spirits  in  the  heavenlies.  Without  doubt,  the 
same  thought  underlies  the  present  magnificent 
apostrophe.  And  this  is  such  an  encouragement 
to  prayer ;  because  from  our  knees  we  may  affect 
the  balance  of  power  in  the  heavenlies  by  the 
weight  of  our  intercessions. 

All  through  this  chapter  runs  the  contrast  be- 
tween the  fallen  cherub,  the  patron  saint  of 
Zidon,  and  Jehovah  the  God  of  Israel.  In  the 
collision  between  these  two,  the  might  of  the 
devil  was  shown  to  be  a  shadow ;  and  his  vota- 
ries were  ashamed  and  astonished  at  his  impotence 
to  defend  them.  For  us  there  is  blessed  signifi- 
cance in  this  subject.  Greater  is  He  that  is  for 
us  than  he  that  is  against  us.  The  last  Adam 
hath  stood  in  the  conflict  in  which  the  first  Adam 
fell.  None  shall  prevail  against  us  in  Him. 
151 


I  have  given  him  the  land  of  Egypt t  .  .   .  because 
they  wrought  for  Me.  Ezek.  xxix.  ^o  (r.  v.). 

THE  king  of  Babylon  was  sent  against  Tyre. 
The  siege  lasted  long,  and  his  army  suffered  great 
privations.  Scorching  heat  above,  and  the  heavy 
burdens  on  their  shoulders,  made  every  head  bald 
and  every  shoulder  pealed.  For  this  great  service 
he  was  to  be  recompensed  with  the  gift  of  the 
land  of  Egypt,  because  he  had  wrought  God's 
purpose. 

The  words  quoted  above  suggest  the  thought, 
that  though  we  do  not  merit  anything  of  God  by 
our  service,  yet  He  does  not  forget  our  work  of 
faith  and  labor  of  love  when  it  is  wrought  for 
Him.  If  He  gave  Egypt  to  a  heathen  king  for 
his  service  in  respect  to  Tyre,  we  may  also  expect 
Him  to  bestow  a  reward  on  those  who  have  built 
gold,  silver,  and  precious  stones,  into  His  holy 
temple.  The  servant  who  has  made  his  five  tal- 
ents into  ten,  shall  be  rewarded  with  ten  cites. 
Those  who  have  watched  and  waited  through  the 
long  night  shall  be  rewarded  with  special  honor 
in  the  bridal  feast.  God  will  give  to  us  some 
guerdon  for  our  toils,  some  prize  for  our  conflict, 
some  token  of  His  favor,  which  will  be  all  of 
grace  and  yet  proportionate  to  the  work  wrought 
for  Him. 

The  transference  of  countries  from  one  sover- 
eign power  to  another  may  appear  to  be  only  the 
result  of  political  combinations,  or  superior  arm- 
ies. "  Providence  is  on  the  side  of  the  strongest 
battalions,"  Napoleon  said;  and  the  remark  is 
consistent  with  man's  ordinary  way  of  thinking. 
But  here  the  prophet  withdraws  the  vail,  and 
shows  the  fulfillment  of  the  Divine  purpose,  as 
Egypt  comes  under  the  power  of  the  king  of 
Babylon.  As  we  look  over  the  world,  how  vast 
are  the  changes  which  are  passing  over  it,  pre- 
paring for  Christ's  gospel. 
152 


Whefi  I  shall  put  my  sword  into  the  hand  of  the 
king  of  Babylon.  Ezek.  xxx.  sj. 

THE  emphasis  is  on  the  word  my.  The  pun- 
ishment inflicted  by  the  king  of  Babylon  on 
Egypt  was  directly  from  God  ;  it  was  His  sword 
in  the  hand  of  Nebuchadnezzar  (ver.  lo).  How 
little  the  historian  of  that  time  realized  that  there 
was  anything  more  in  the  expedition  of  Babylon 
against  Egypt  than  the  natural  rivalry  of  these 
two  great  nations.  But  the  eye  of  the  inspired 
seer  saw  that  Babylon  was  the  executor  of  the 
Divine  decree. 

Very  often  events  and  people  carry  the  sword 
of  God,  or  His  rod,  which  to  the  natural  eye 
seem  to  emanate  by  chance,  or  by  the  malice  of 
men.  God's  chastisements  are  very  real.  It  is 
probable  that  no  child  of  God  sins  knowingly 
against  the  Divine  order  without  being  chastised. 
Sometimes  the  natural  consequences  of  our  sins, 
at  other  times  misfortunes  in  our  circumstances, 
or  the  alienation  of  our  friends,  make  the  scourge 
of  small  cords  by  which  our  souls  are  taught  the 
bitterness  of  any  way  but  God's. 

Are  you  undergoing  chastisement  ?  Do  not 
regard  the  human  agent  with  any  feeling  but  of 
love  and  pity ;  do  not  expend  your  strength  in 
resistance  and  threatening;  do  not  faint  when 
you  are  rebuked  :  but  lie  still  at  the  feet  of  God, 
receiving  meekly  the  strokes,  and  thankful  that 
He  loves  you  well  enough  to  take  such  pains. 
Thus  the  bitter  discipline  will  produce  the  fruits 
of  righteousness  which  are  to  the  praise  and 
glory  of  God.  Never  forget  to  distinguish  be- 
tween chastisement  and  punishment.  The  one  is 
for  the  child ;  the  other  for  the  rebel.  Chastise- 
ment we  may  bear ;  but  the  punishment  of  our 
sin  has  been  forever  borne  by  Jesus  Christ.  Oh, 
do  not  call  yourself  Marah  !  If  you  only  un- 
derstood God's  way,  it  would  be  Naomi. 
153 


They  .   .   .   fkaf  dwelt  under  His  shadow  in  the 
midst  of  the  heathen.  Ezek.  xxxi.  i'/. 

WHATEVER  may  be  the  primary  meaning  of 
these  words,  they  have  a  very  blessed  application 
to  those  who  have  gone  forth,  from  so  many 
Christian  families,  into  heathen  lands.  For  no 
choice  of  their  own,  and  simply  in  obedience  to 
their  King's  command,  hundreds  of  our  sons  and 
daughters  have  gone  forth  to  dwell  in  the  midst 
of  the  heathen.  They  have  taken  up  their  home 
amid  conditions  which  they  would  not  have 
chosen,  had  it  not  been  for  the  constraining  love 
of  Christ,  and  the  imperative  need  of  dying 
men ;  and  as  fond  relatives  and  friends  regard 
their  lot  from  a  distance,  they  are  often  filled 
with  anxious  forebodings.  May  they  not  be  in- 
volved in  some  sudden  riot  and  sacrificed  to  a 
frenzy  of  hate?  May  not  the  sanitary  conditions 
and  methods  of  life  be  seriously  detrimental  to 
their  health  or  morals?  '*0h,  if  only  I  could 
be  there,"  you  sigh. 

Hush  !  Christ  is  there ;  as  near  them  as  He  is 
to  you,  casting  over  them  the  shadow  of  His 
Presence,  beckoning  them  to  His  secret  place. 
He  is  the  shadow  of  a  great  Rock  in  a  weary 
land  ;  or  like  the  canopy  of  cloud  that  hovered 
over  the  camp  of  Israel  by  day,  screening  it  from 
the  torrid  glare.  Do  not  fear  to  trust  your  loved 
ones  to  the  immortal  Lover,  who  fainteth  not, 
neither  is  weary.  The  hand  that  would  harm  is 
arrested  and  paralyzed  when  it  attempts  to 
penetrate  that  safe  enclosure. 

"  God  is  never  so  far  off  as  even  to  be  near  : 
He  is  within  !  Our  spirit  is  the  home  He  holds  most  dear. 
To  think  of  Him  as  by  our  side,  is  almost  as  untrue, 
As  to  remove  His  throne  beyond  those  skies  of  starry  blue ; 
So  all   the  while   I  thought  myself  homeless,  forlorn, 

and  weary. 
Nursing  my  joy,   I   walked   the   earth — myself  God's 
sanctuary." 

154 


The  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying  : 

Ezek.  xxxii.  i,  ly. 

WE  often  bring  our  words  to  God,  without 
being  equally  eager  to  receive  His  to  us.  Prob- 
ably His  word  often  comes  to  us  when  we  are  too 
engaged  to  hear  it,  or  because  our  ear  is  not 
anointed  and  purged.  Tennyson  used  to  boast 
of  his  power  of  detecting  a  bat's  shrill  scream, 
which  comparatively  few  can  catch.  So  it  is  not 
every  child  of  God  that  can  be  still  or  quick 
enough  to  detect  the  whisper  of  His  small  soft 
voice.  When  it  does  come,  breaking  in  through 
the  many  voices  that  fill  heart  and  life,  we  do 
well,  as  Ezekiel  did,  carefully  to  mark  the  days 
as  memorable,  writing  on  the  tablet  of  our  heart, 
*'  On  this  day  God  spake  to  my  soul." 

We  do  well  to  observe  special  days  in  our  diary 
of  the  years.  The  day  of  our  conversation  or 
consecration ;  the  day  of  deliverance  from  over- 
whelming trouble ;  the  day  when  He  summoned 
us  to  some  new  duty ;  the  day  when  Paradise 
shone  around  us  with  its  golden  sheen.  Even 
Paul  recorded,  amid  his  busy  life,  that  day  when 
he  was  caught  up  into  the  third  heaven. 

Let  us  invite  these  Divine  confidences.  Let  us 
fall  on  our  face  while  God  talks  with  us.  Let  us 
be  on  the  outlook  lest  His  invitations  are  not  re- 
sponded to.  Let  us  address  our  heavenly  Bride- 
groom in  the  words  of  the  Song  of  Songs : 
*'  Let  me  hear  Thy  voice,  for  sweet  is  Thy  voice." 
Then,  though  we  sleep,  our  heart  will  wake ;  and 
we  shall  recognize  the  voice  of  our  Beloved,  as 
He  waits  at  the  door,  saying,  *'  Open  to  Me,  My 
sister,  My  love.  My  undefiled."  Ah,  who  shall 
fathom  the  confidences  that  are  exchanged  when 
the  word  of  the  Lord  thus  comes  to  us?  But 
be  sure  that  it  will  cease,  directly  we  hear,  but 
fail  to  obey.  Humility  and  obedience  are  essen- 
tial. 

153 


Then  shall  they  know  that  a  prophet  hath  been 
among  them.  Ezek.  xxxiii.  33. 

THE  people  looked  on  Ezekiel's  ministrations 
as  a  delightful  diversion.  They  regarded  him  as 
one  that  had  a  pleasant  voice,  and  could  play- 
well  on  an  instrument,  and  gathered  around  him 
with  apparent  eagerness  and  devotion.  With 
their  mouth  they  were  profuse  in  expressions  of 
love  and  admiration  ;  but  they  had  no  idea  of  the 
weight  and  worth  of  his  words.  They  looked 
only  on  the  beauty  of  his  expressions,  without 
penetrating  to  the  spiritual  depth  and  meaning 
they  contained.  But  when  once  his  warnings 
had  taken  effect,  and  his  predictions  had  been 
fulfilled,  that  would  know  that  he  had  been  some- 
thing more  than  a  sweet  singer,  and  that  there 
had  been  a  prophet  among  them. 

We  do  not  realize  the  true  worth  of  God's 
gifts  till  they  are  gone  from  us  never  to  be  recalled. 
That  friendship  was  grateful  and  pleasing  to  the 
sense ;  but  we  did  not  gauge  the  true  worth  of 
our  friend.  That  opportunity  of  hearing  God's 
word  from  the  lips  of  an  honored  minister  was 
frittered  away  in  casual  criticisms  on  his  manners 
and  gestures,  instead  of  being  employed  for  hear- 
ing God's  word  from  His  lips.  That  incident 
in  our  life  touched  us  by  its  outward  features  only  ; 
but  we  failed  to  receive  the  profound  lesson  it 
was  intended  to  convey.  Alas,  so  often  when 
the  prophet  has  gone,  we  realize  what  he  was, 
and  what  we  have  missed  ! 

Let  us  be  more  careful  to  look  into  the  heart 
of  the  circumstances  and  people  around  us ;  to 
ponder  deeply  the  meaning  of  all  that  God  puts 
into  our  lives  \  to  penetrate  below  the  surface  to 
the  eternal  and  divine,  which  are  not  far  beneath. 
The  vail  between  us  and  the  Eternal  Presence- 
chamber  is  as  thin  and  delicate  as  the  walls  of 
our  hearts. 

156 


I  will  feed  My  flock  y  and  I  ivill  cause  them  to  lie 
down,  saith  the  Lord  God.  Ezek.  xxxiv.  /j. 

It  is  perfectly  impossible  to  make  sheep  lie 
down  unless  they  are  satisfied  or  free  from  alarm. 
When  the  flocks  lie  deep  in  the  rich  pasture 
lands,  it  is  because  they  have  eaten  to  the  full, 
and  are  quiet  from  fear  of  evil.  When,  there- 
fore, the  Shepherd  and  Bishop  of  our  souls  prom- 
ises that  He  will  so  deal  with  us  as  to  cause  us 
to  lie  down,  He  undertakes  to  fulfill  in  our  life 
these  two  conditions. 

The  Lord  Jesus  brings  us  into  a  good  pasture, 
and  causes  us  to  feed  in  a  fat  pasture  upon  the 
mountains  of  fellowship,  transfiguration,  and  far- 
reaching  vision.  Listen  as  He  cries,  "Eat,  yea, 
eat  abundantly,  O  beloved."  Our  restlessness 
arises  from  our  refusal  to  obey  His  loving  invita- 
tion to  come  and  dine.  We  do  not  read  our 
Bibles  enough,  or  feed  on  His  flesh,  or  drink 
His  blood.  Let  us  look  at  Scripture  as  the  green 
pastures ;  and  as  we  open  them  let  us  ask  Him 
to  be  our  guide,  and  to  show  us  where  the  food 
appropriate  to  our  need  is  to  be  found. 

The  Lord  Jesus  does  more.  He  makes  with 
us  a  covenant  of  peace;  and  even  if  the  evil 
beasts  do  not  cease  out  of  the  land.  He  so  assures 
us  that  we  can  dwell  safely  in  the  wilderness  and 
sleep  in  the  woods.  He  intends  that  we  should 
be  safe  in  Immanuel's  land ;  that  the  bonds  of 
our  yoke  should  be  broken ;  and  that  we  should 
be  delivered  out  of  the  hands  of  those  who  serve 
themselves  of  us. 

O  child  of  God,  be  less  dependent  on  people 
and  circumstances  I  Deal  more  constantly  at 
first  hand  with  Jesus.  Regard  Him  as  your 
Shepherd  ;  "He  maketh  to  lie  down."  Rejoice 
that  He  the  Lord  your  God  is  with  you,  and  that 
the  shadowing  woods,  the  mighty  mountains,  and 
the  stream-watered  vales  are  equally  beneath  His 
power  and  care. 

157 


Wliereas  the  Lord  was  there. 

Ezek.  XXXV.  10. 

LISTEN  to  the  plottings  of  Mount  Seir,  wait- 
ing until  Nebuchadnezzar  has  dispossessed  Israel 
of  their  land,  and  with  the  fixed  intention  of  en- 
tering upon  its  inheritance.  These  two  nations, 
says  the  foe,  and  these  two  countries  shall  be 
mine.  The  children  of  Israel  are  in  captivity  in 
Habor  and  Gozan;  the  children  of  Judah  at 
Babylon,  What  is  there  to  prevent  my  entering 
upon  their  lands?  But  Jehovah  Shammah,  the 
Lord,  was  in  possession ;  He  was  there. 

What  inspiration  this  is  I  How  often  do  our 
foes  plot  against  us,  supposing  that  we  shall  fall 
an  easy  prey,  and  that  they  can  divide  the  spoils 
without  let.  But  God  is  there.  God  is  in  the 
heart,  holding  for  Himself  that  which  He  re- 
deemed. God  is  in  that  bed-chamber  of  mortal 
anguish  and  of  long  waiting.  God  is  in  that 
home  which  appears  besieged  by  every  kind  of 
misfortune.  O  foot  of  the  foe,  thou  shalt  not  in- 
trude !  O  might  of  the  foe,  thou  shalt  not  pre- 
vail 1  God  is  in  possession !  Though  there 
seems  nothing  to  prevent  the  complete  overrun- 
ning of  the  land,  the  mailed  forces  of  the  enemy 
shall  break  on  the  invisible  bulwarks  of  the 
Divine  presence. 

Jehovah,  Shammah  !  That  hallows  every  spot, 
consecrates  every  act,  invests  the  meanest  believer 
with  transcendent  worth,  is  our  buttress  against 
attack,  and  our  glory  in  the  midst.  For  God  to 
be  in  the  soul  is  the  secret  of  its  holiness,  of  its 
persistence  in  the  heavenly  way,  and  of  its  ulti- 
mate triumph  over  all  the  power  of  the  adversary. 
Be  sure  that  He  is  willing  to  become  all  tliis  for 
you  also,  O  weakest  and  most  helpless  man  I 
When  the  Stronger  than  the  strong  is  in  posses- 
sion, how  safe  his  goods  ! 
158 


Ve  shall  sJioot  forth  your  branches,  and  yield  your 
fruit  to  My  people.  Ezek.  xxxvi.  8. 

VERY  magnificent  is  this  address  to  the  moun- 
tains of  Israel.  At  the  moment  the  prophet 
spoke  they  were  lying  waste,  and  the  people  of 
Idumea  were  plotting  to  possess  them ;  but  this 
chapter  reiterates  the  assurance  that  they  should 
be  tilled,  sown,  and  possessed. 

It  seems  to  me  as  though  these  words  may  be 
addressed  to  desolate  hearts  that  are  suffering 
from  heartrending  grief.  Whereas  they  were 
once  full  of  mirth,  they  are  now  desolate  and 
lonely.  The  light  of  their  eyes  has  departed ; 
the  voice  that  made  music  is  still ;  the  presence 
that  filled  the  home  is  gone.  Is  such  your  case? 
Behold,  God  will  do  better  unto  you  than  at  your 
beginnings,  and  the  old  estates  shall  be  appor- 
tioned and  inherited.  Bind  this  promise  to  your 
heart ;  the  desolate  land  shall  be  tilled,  and  they 
shall  say.  This  land  that  was  desolate  has  become 
like  the  Garden  of  Eden,  and  the  wastes  are  in- 
habited (vers,  34,  35).  Do  you  think  that  you 
will  never  be  glad  again ;  that  shadow  will  al- 
ways lie  athwart  your  path ;  and  that  desolation 
shall  hold  undisputed  empire  ?  It  shall  not  be 
so.  O  desolate  mountains,  ye  shall  shoot  forth 
your  branches,  and  yield  fruit ;  and  it  is  near  to 
come. 

But  before  these  promises  can  be  realized,  you 
must  let  your  sorrow  work  to  its  full  result  in  the 
purification  and  sanctification  of  your  heart. 
Great  trouble  has  been  allowed  to  come  that  you 
might  know  the  vanity  and  evil  of  your  own 
heart,  and  be  led  to  claim  the  promises  of  verses 
25-29.  They  are  exceeding  great  and  precious. 
Note  specially  the  words,  *'In  the  day  that  I 
shall  have  cleansed  you  from  all  your  iniquities, 
the  wastes  shall  be  builded,  and  the  desolate  land 
tilled"  (vers.  2>2>^  34). 

159 


Prophesy  over  these  bones.  .  .   .  Prophesy  unto 
the  wind.  Ezek.  xxxvU.  ^,  9  (r.  v.). 

THIS  is  our  double  office,  as  servants  of  God. 
We  are  to  prophesy  to  earth  and  heaven ;  to  man 
and  God .  There  are  some  who  forget  the  second  of 
these  injunctions,  and  their  work  fails  of  its  high- 
est result.  When  they  speak,  bones  "  come  to- 
gether, bone  to  bone";  there  is  a  stir  in  the 
graves  of  death  and  corruption ;  a  coming  to- 
gether of  the  people  to  hear  the  word ;  and  in 
many  cases  all  the  appearance  of  a  new  life. 
The  flesh  comes  up  and  skin  covers  them  above; 
but  (and  how  fatal  is  the  admission  which  this 
but  introduces)  there  is  no  breath  in  them.  It  is 
clear  that  no  amount  of  human  persuasiveness  or 
oratory  can  secure  the  true  regeneration  of  the 
soul.  That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh  may  be 
galvanized  by  the  energy  of  the  flesh  into  the  ap- 
pearance of  spiritual  life,  but  it  will  always  re- 
main flesh. 

When  you  have  done  your  best,  and  have  failed 
of  the  highest  results,  prophesy  to  the  Spirit ;  cry 
to  the  four  winds,  because  He  may  come  in  the 
icy  north  wind  of  tribulation,  or  the  warm  west 
wind  of  prosperity ;  but  speak  with  the  certain 
assurance  of,  ''Thus  saith  the  Lord  God: 
Come  !  "  There  is  a  sense  in  which  the  be- 
liever has  the  privilege  of  commanding  the  Spirit 
of  God.  "Concerning  the  works  of  my  hands, 
command  ye  me."  When  you  obey  the  law  of 
a  force,  the  force  will  obey  you ;  and  when  you 
yield  utterly  and  humbly  to  God,  the  power  of 
God  will  answer  the  summons  of  your  faith. 

Even  while  you  are  speaking,  let  your  heart  be 
in  the  attitude  of  expectancy  ;  and  according  to 
your  faith,  it  shall  be  done  unto  you.  If  you 
cannot  go  forth  to  witness  or  prophesy,  let  your 
prayer  arise  to  God  like  a  fountain  day  and 
night,  that  His  Spirit  may  breathe  on  the  slain. 
160 


Behold,  I  am  against  thee,    O   Gog,  prince  of 
Rosh,  Meshech,  and  Tubal. 

Ezek.  xxxviii.  j  (r.  v.). 

IT  is  startling  to  meet  with  these  three  names, 
which  are  found  in  modern  maps  as  Russia,  Mos- 
cow, and  Tobolsk,  and  to  feel  that  we  may  be 
reading  words  that  are  shortly  coming  to  pass. 
So  far  as  we  can  see,  they  have  not  as  yet  been 
fulfilled.  Within  the  hearing  of  the  present  gen- 
eration, Russia  may  resolve  to  go  up  to  the  land 
of  un walled  villages,  such  as  those  that  abound 
in  Palestine,  and  may  be  challenged  by  the  mer- 
chants of  Tarshish  in  the  far  West.  Some  have 
even  found  an  allusion  to  the  English  stand- 
ard in  the  reference  to  the  young  lions  of  verse 

13- 

The  shrewdest  among  us  cannot  guess  what 
may  await  the  world  in  the  near  future.  Peer  as 
we  may  into  the  dim  mist,  we  cannot  descry  the 
events  which  are  coming  upon  the  earth.  But  we 
may  be  thankful  that  we  have  this  word  of  proph- 
ecy, to  which  we  "do  well  to  take  heed,  as  unto 
a  light  shining  in  a  dark  place."  It  is  like  the 
illustrated  railway-table,  which  contains  a  list  of 
the  stations  through  which  we  must  pass  ere  we 
reach  the  terminus.  And  as  the  porters  call  out 
the  names,  and  we  find  that  they  correspond  to 
the  route  as  detailed  on  the  tables,  we  come  to 
place  more  implicit  trust  in  our  guide-book,  and 
to  count  with  absolute  certainty  on  our  ultimate 
emergence  at  our  destination.  *^When  ye  see 
these  things  coming  to  pass,  know  ye  that  He  is 
nigh,  even  at  the  doors."  In  the  meanwhile  let 
your  loins  be  girt,  and  your  lamps  burning,  and 
ye  as  those  that  wait  for  their  Lord. 

««  Surely  He  cometh,  and  a  thousand  voices 

Shout  to  the  saints,  and  to  the  deaf  are  dumb! 
Surely  He  cometh,  and  the  earth  rejoices, 
Glad  in  His  coming,  Who  hath  sworn,  •  I  come.*** 
161 


Now  will  I  bring  again  the  captivity  of  Jacob ^ 
and  have  mercy  upon  Israel.         Ezek.  xxxix.  s^. 

WE  must  never  overlook  the  literal  significance 
of  this  promise.  All  Israel,  insists  the  apostle  of 
the  Gentiles,  who  never  lost  his  love  for  his  own 
people,  shall  be  saved.  The  blindness  which  has 
happened  to  them  is  only  till  the  fullness  of  the 
Gentile  contingent  to  the  one  Church  has  been 
brought  in.  The  gifts  and  calling  of  God  are 
without  repentance.  The  covenant  made  to  their 
fathers  cannot  be  annulled. 

But  all  bringing  again  must  originate  in  God. 
The  sheep  can  only  wander  on,  further  and  further 
from  the  fold,  ever  deeper  into  the  dark  moun- 
tains ;  it  will  never  find  its  way  back  :  if  it  shall 
see  the  fold  again,  it  will  be  because  the  shepherd 
goes  after  it  until  he  finds  it. 

Our  natural  bias  is  altogether  away  from  God. 
The  pole  of  our  life  is  aslant  from  the  pole-star. 
Our  natural  tendency  is  to  vanity,  corruption, 
and  chaos.  If  God  were  to  withdraw  Himself, 
however  slightly,  from  the  natural  world,  it  would 
revert  to  the  darkness  and  confusion  of  its  ear- 
liest stages ;  and  whenever  God  is  absent  from 
our  moral  life,  there  is  the  natural  and  inevitable 
reversion  to  the  original  Adamtype.  But  God  is 
rich  in  mercy,  in  neutralizing  the  effects  of  our 
evil  nature.  He  calls  us  back  to  Himself;  nay, 
He  comes  after  us,  and  brings  again  our  captivity 
for  His  name's  sake.  Are  you  in  captivity  to  evil 
habits  from  which  you  cannot  break  loose ;  to 
evil  associations  from  which  you  cannot  free  your- 
self; to  circumstances  that  shut  you  in  as  iron 
bars  ?  Have  you  come  to  an  end  of  your  efforts 
for  liberty,  finding  the  more  you  struggle  the 
more  deeply  you  involve  yourself  in  the  close- 
woven  meshes?  Then  look  away  to  the  Lord 
God,  plead  His  promises,  ask  Him  to  remember 
His  holy  name,  and  He  will  bring  you  again. 


Declare  all  that  thou  seest. 

Ezek.  xl.  4. 

WE  are  called  to  be  God's  witnesses,  behold- 
ing the  visions  of  God,  and  bearing  witness  to 
our  brethren  of  what  we  have  seen,  tasted,  and 
handled,  of  the  Word  of  Life.  When  the  city  is 
draped  in  mist  and  gloom,  the  artist  takes  his 
portfolio  and  climbs  into  the  high  mountain  of 
vision.  He  beholds  there  the  crystalline  beauty 
of  the  unsullied  snow;  the  roseate  hues  of  sun- 
rise and  sunset ;  the  heaped  magnificence  of  the 
glaciers,  with  their  blue  depth.  Transferring 
his  visions  to  his  canvas,  he  returns  to  this  lower 
sphere,  and  exhibits  his  picture  on  the  walls  of 
some  public  gallery,  from  which  it  silently  wit- 
nesses to  one  of  shy  Nature's  coyest  moods.  But 
the  passers-by  are  apt  to  accuse  him  of  extrava- 
gance. Ah,  but  they  have  not  stood  where  he 
stood,  or  seen  what  he  has  beheld  !  It  is  thus  in 
Divine  things  also. 

God  often  leads  His  children  into  startling  and 
unexpected  experiences.  They  are  troubled  on 
every  side;  bereft  of  dear  ones;  deprived  of 
health  or  property;  compelled  to  pass  through 
the  scorching  fires  of  slander,  misunderstanding, 
and  temptation.  But  these  are  the  times  when 
they  should  set  their  hearts  on  all  that  is  being 
shown,  to  see  the  way  by  which  God  is  leading 
them;  the  comfort  with  which  He  is  comforting 
them ;  the  help  in  which  He  is  environing  them. 
They  have  been  brought  to  these  experiences  that 
they  may  know  themselves,  and  God,  and  His 
ways  of  deahng  with  His  people ;  and  may  be 
able  to  declare  what  they  have  been  taught,  to 
the  intent  that  unto  the  principalities  and  powers 
in  the  heavenlies  may  be  known  through  the 
Church  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God.  No  vision 
is  for  private  advantage  and  jubilation  only ;  de- 
clare it  all. 

163 


He  brought  me  to  the  Temple,  and  measured. 

Ezek.  xli.  I. 

THIS  is  the  pattern  of  an  ideal  Temple,  which 
was  presented  in  thought  to  the  prophet's  mind, 
as  the  pattern  of  the  Tabernacle  was  shown  to 
Moses  on  the  Mount.  It  is  interesting  to  notice 
the  minute  measurements  and  specifications — 
even  to  the  ornaments  of  cherubim  and  palm- 
trees.  We  cannot  but  remember  that  the  plan 
of  our  life  is  also  worked  out  before  the  face 
of  God,  and  that  we  shall  live  to  the  best  pur- 
pose when  we  make  all  things  according  to  the 
pattern  shown  us  on  the  Mount  of  Prayer  and 
Vision. 

Ever  remember  to  look  upward  to  God's  pat- 
tern, and  do  nothing  except  what  He  reveals  as 
His  will  for  you  ;  whilst  careful  to  omit  nothing 
that  has  been  prepared  for  you  to  say  or  do. 
Look  up,  child  of  God ;  look  into  the  plan  of 
your  temple-building.  The  holy  places  of  prayer; 
the  altars  of  your  sacrifice  and  consecration  ;  the 
tables  of  your  fellowship  ;  the  doors  that  lead  out 
to  work  and  open  into  chambers  of  pain  and  suf- 
fering ;  the  length  and  breadth  of  each ;  the  or- 
namentation to  be  chased  upon  your  soul — all,  all 
are  fixed.  Let  your  one  aim  be  that  God's  will 
for  you  should  be  realized  in  you ;  and  dare  to 
believe  that,  if  only  you  will  yield  to  Him,  He 
will  work  out  in  you  that  which  is  well-pleasing 
in  His  sight,  to  whom  shall  be  the  glory  forever 
and  ever. 

Only  remember  three  rules: — (i)  Keep  your 
eye  directed  outward  and  upward,  to  Christ  ex- 
alted in  the  glory.  {2)  Be  careful  to  maintain 
the  silence  of  the  Sabbath-rest  within — rest  from 
your  own  thoughts  and  ways.  (3)  Do  not  be 
always  speaking  of  God  as  having  said  or  shown 
this  or  that :  let  men  form  their  own  conclu- 
sions. 

164 


The  priests  that  are  near  unto  the  Lord  shall  eat 
the  most  holy  things.  Ezek.  xlU.  13  (r.  v.). 

EVERY  believer  is  a  priest  unto  God.  He 
may  not  exercise  his  priesthood ;  but  when  he 
was  washed  from  his  sins  in  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb,  he  was  constituted  a  priest  unto  God,  even 
the  Father.  We  are  called,  not  to  offer  propitia- 
tory sacrifices — there  is  no  need  for  this,  since 
Jesus  when  He  died  offered  the  one  sufficient 
oblation  for  the  sins  of  the  world — but  to  present 
ourselves  living  sacrifices,  to  offer  up  a  sacrifice 
of  praise  to  God  continually,  and  to  do  good 
and  communicate  of  our  substance  to  the  help  of 
others. 

Are  you  near  unto  the  Lord  ?  Hath  He  chosen 
you  to  stand  before  Him,  and  know  His  will,  and 
hear  the  word  from  His  mouth  ?  Then  most 
certainly  you  will  often  enter  into  the  inner 
chamber  to  eat  of  the  most  holy  things.  These 
are  enumerated  as  the  meat-offering,  the  sin-offer- 
ing, and  the  guilt-offering.  We  must  have 
fellowship  with  God  in  His  joy  over  the  spotless 
character  and  lovely  human  life  of  Jesus,  which 
may  be  compared  to  fine  flour.  We  must  have 
fellowship  in  the  atoning  death  of  our  Substitute ; 
feeding  on  all  the  sacred  meaning  of  the  won- 
drous Cross.  We  must  avail  ourselves  of  Jesus 
as  our  guilt-offering  ;  making  propitiation  for  our 
mistakes,  negligences,  and  infirmities  (Lev.  ii., 
iv.,  v.). 

If  you  would  be  near  to  God,  feed  on  the 
work  of  Jesus  ;  if  you  are  near  to  God,  you  cannot 
live  without  it.  To  muse  on  the  propitiatory  as- 
pects of  the  death  of  Jesus  is  as  necessary  for  the 
strength  of  our  inner  life  as  food  is  to  the  body. 
Let  us  beware  of  imitating  the  mistake  of  Lev. 
X.  16-20 ;  and  let  us  be  very  careful  to  eat  of  the 
wave-breast  and  the  heave-thigh,  which  stand  for 
the  love  of  Jesus  for  our  affections,  and  the 
might  of  Jesus  for  our  strength  (Lev.  x.  14). 
165 


Behold  the  glory  of  the  Lord  filleth  the  house. 

Ezek.  xliii.  2-y. 

AT  the  beginning  of  this  book  (chaps,  ix.  and 
X.)  we  beheld  the  departure  of  the  Shekinah 
cloud  from  the  doomed  temple.  But  now,  to  the 
new  reconstructed  temple  it  returns.  So  will 
God  shed  the  sense  of  His  presence  through  our 
hearts.  We  may  have  grieved  Him,  and  lost  it 
by  defiling  His  holy  name,  and  by  the  abomina- 
tions which  we  have  committed.  But  if  we  will 
resolutely  put  away  our  unfaithfulness,  our 
coquetting  with  the  world,  our  tampering  with 
the  flesh,  He  will  return  and  dwell  in  our  midst 
forever.  Behold,  the  glory  of  the  Lord  will  fill 
the  inner  shrine  of  our  spirit,  and  the  earth  will 
shine  with  His  glory. 

"  Heaven  above  is  softer  blue ; 

Earth  beneath  is  sweeter  green ; 
Something  shines  in  every  hue 
Christless  eyes  have  never  seen." 

There  is  a  very  precious  promise  connected 
with  the  Divine  return  and  indwelling  :  **  I  will 
dwell  in  the  midst  of  the  children  of  Israel,  and 
they  shall  no  more  defile  My  holy  name  "(ver. 
7).  Be  willing  to  admit  God,  and  He  will  come. 
"If  any  man  open  the  door,  I  will  come  in." 
Whenever  God  comes  He  will  make  the  old  sin 
abhorrent  and  impossible;  and  His  indwelling 
will  not  be  transient  and  fitful,  but  permanent 
and  efficient.     "  They  shall  no  7?iore  defile." 

This  is  what  we  need.  We  cannot  have  holi- 
ness apart  from  the  Holy  One.  The  attribute 
may  not  be  divorced  from  its  possessor.  But  to 
the  soul  that  desires  holiness,  the  holy  God  comes, 
and  infills,  and  keeps ;  so  that  darkness  cannot 
intrude  on  the  domain  of  light,  nor  hate  on  love, 
nor  death  on  life.  Has  the  Shekinah  left  thee? 
Lo,  it  returns  by  the  way  it  went,  and  thine 
earthly  life  shall  shine  again. 
166 


I  am  their  inheritance.  .  .  .  I  am  their  possession. 

Ezek.  xliv.  28. 

THESE  injunctions  for  the  priests,  the 
Levites,  that  keep  the  charge  of  the  sanctuary, 
are  full  of  suggestion  to  those  who  have  been 
made  priests  to  God  and  the  Father.  It  is  for  us 
to  enter  into  the  Holy  Place,  to  come  near  His 
table  to  minister  unto  His  Father,  and  to  keep 
His  charge  (ver.  16),  always  remembering  that 
we  need  the  sin-offering  whenever  we  approach 
God  (ver.  27).  However  holy  a  man  becomes, 
as  the  revelation  of  God's  perfect  holiness  breaks 
upon  him,  there  is  need  to  shelter  beneath  the 
blood  that  was  shed. 

But  when  these  features  of  our  ministry  have 
been  realized,  we  have  a  right  to  look  on  God  as 
our  inheritance  and  possession.  How  wonderful 
that  in  a  deep  sense  we  may  obtain  supplies  of 
Divine  help  from  our  fellowship  with  God  !  To 
follow  out  the  literal  comparison  of  an  inher- 
itance would  suggest  that  as  the  peasant  proprie- 
tors of  Palestine  raised  crops  on  their  lands,  so 
we  may  obtain,  by  prayer  and  faith,  out  of  the 
very  heart  of  God,  all  things  that  are  needful  for 
life  and  godliness. 

We  possess  God  as  the  flower  the  sunlight ;  as 
a  babe  the  mother.  All  His  resources  are  placed 
at  our  disposal.  The  seed  cast  into  the  ground 
immediately  begins  to  take  from  earth  and  air  the 
nutriment  of  its  life,  and  we  have  the  same 
power  of  deriving  from  the  infinite  fullness  of 
God  all  that  shall  make  us  pure  and  strong  and 
gentle.  Ours  are  the  unsearchable  riches  of 
Christ ;  we  are  made  full  through  the  fullness 
which  God  the  Father  has  been  pleased  to  make 
dwell  in  Him.  All  the  resources  which  have  been 
placed  at  His  disposal  in  His  ascension  and 
eternal  reign  are  gifts  which  He  holds  for  men. 
Alas  for  us  that  we  fail  to  possess  our  possessions ! 
167 


And  so  shalt  thou  do  for  every  one  that  erreth, 
and  for  him  that  is  simple.  Ezek.  xlv.  20. 

A  VERY  touching  provision  is  here.  When 
the  services  of  the  newly  constituted  temple  were 
in  full  operation,  and  the  priests  were  performing 
the  usual  rites  in  all  the  pomp  and  splendor  of 
their  ceremonial  on  the  behalf  of  all  righteous 
and  godly  souls,  there  was  to  be  special  thought 
of  the  erring  and  simple  ;  for  these  two  characters 
a  special  offering  was  made.  Perhaps  the  erring 
were  too  hardened  and  the  simple  too  obtuse  to 
bring  an  offering  for  themselves ;  but  they  were 
not  forgotten.  The  blood  of  the  sin-offering  was 
to  be  placed  on  the  posts  of  the  house  and  on  the 
posts  of  the  gate  of  the  inner  court,  each  seventh 
day  of  the  month,  on  their  behalf. 

Whenever  we  draw  around  the  altar  of  God, 
whether  in  the  home  or  church,  we  should  re- 
member the  erring  and  simple.  If  a  family 
misses  from  its  ranks  one  erring  member,  its 
prayer  and  thought  are  more  directed  toward  that 
one  than  to  those  that  have  not  gone  astray. 
Does  not  the  child  who  is  deficient  in  its  intel- 
lect attract  more  loving  care  than  those  who  are 
able  to  care  for  themselves  ?  Should  it  be  other- 
wise in  God's  home?  Was  it  not  for  erring 
Peter  that  Jesus  prayed?  Was  it  not  for  Thomas 
that  He  made  another  special  visit  to  the  upper 
room?  Does  not  the  Great  Shepherd  gently 
lead  those  that  are  with  young?  And  in  so 
far  as  we  enter  into  God's  mind,  we,  too,  shall 
care  for  the  ignorant  and  those  who  are  out  of 
the  way. 

There  is  room  for  all  such  in  the  Father's 
House — a  warm  welcome  and  ample  provision. 
Like  Samuel's  words  about  David,  so  God  speaks 
of  the  most  inconspicuous  members  of  His  family, 
"  Send  and  fetch  him ;  for  we  will  not  sit  down 
till  he  come  hither." 

168 


The  Prince  in  the  midst  of  them ^  when  they  go  in, 
shall  go  in.  Ezek.  xlvi.  lo. 

THESE  are  regulations  for  ingress  and  egress 
in  the  temple  which  Ezekiel  describes;  but  we 
may  be  pardoned  for  finding  a  true  and  tender 
thought  of  the  new  relationship  of  Christ  and 
His  own. 

We,  too,  go  in,  to  find  pasture  within  the  pre- 
cincts of  the  fold  ;  to  worship  in  the  Holy  Place, 
to  get  refreshment  and  strength  ;  as  when  Jona- 
than and  David  met  in  the  wood  and  strength- 
ened each  other's  hands  in  God.  On  the  Lord's 
Day  especially  we  go  in  where  the  seraphim  stand 
around  the  sapphire  throne.  But  of  what  avail 
is  it  to  go  in,  unless  our  Prince  accompanies  us? 
His  presence  makes  the  feast ;  His  company  is  as 
sunlight  to  nature  ;  to  hear  His  voice,  to  feel  the 
touch  of  His  hand,  to  sit  in  His  near  proximity 
— this  is  the  bread  of  life  divine. 

But  there  are  times  when  we  must  go  forth  ; 
we  must  leave  the  transfiguration  mount  for  the 
valley.  The  bugle-note  rings  out  in  the  starry 
dawn,  and  tells  us  that  the  foe  is  approaching. 
The  look-out  watch  calls  from  the  mast-head  that 
the  enemies'  ships  are  in  view.  There  is  work 
to  be  done,  suffering  borne,  difficulty  encoun- 
tered. But  when  we  go  forth,  our  Prince  and  we 
shall  go  forth  together  (r.  v.). 

He  never  puts  His  sheep  forth  without  going 
before  them.  He  never  thrusts  us  into  the  fight 
without  preceding  us.  If  we  have  to  take  the 
way  of  the  Cross,  we  may  always  count  on  seeing 
Him  go  first,  though  we  follow  Him  amazed. 

No  ascent  so  steep  that  we  cannot  see  His  form 
in  advance ;  no  stones  so  sharp  that  are  not 
flecked  with  His  blood  ;  no  fire  so  intense  that 
One  does  not  go  beside  us,  whose  form  is  like  the 
Son  of  God  ;  no  waters  so  deep  that  Emmanuel 
does  not  go  beside  us. 

169 


Everything  shall  live  whither  the  river  cometh. 

Ezek.  xlvii.  g. 

THE  great  need  of  the  world  is  life.  Not 
more  intelligence  or  activity,  but  life,  and  fuller 
life — life  more  abundant,  life  in  full  tide;  the 
life  which  is  life  indeed,  the  eternal  life  which 
was  with  the  Father,  and  was  manifested  to  the 
world.  Of  that  life,  this  river  is  the  emblem. 
It  issues  from  the  throne  of  God.  It  ever  tends 
to  become  fuller  and  deeper.  It  becomes  finally 
too  mighty  to  be  crossed. 

The  course  of  the  river  of  the  prophet's  vision 
was  due  east,  to  the  Arabah,  a  desert  waste,  and 
the  Dead  Sea,  in  whose  dark,  brackish  waters  no 
fish  can  live  ;  but  as  even  these  are  smitten  by  the 
crystal  tide,  a  wonderful  change  takes  place — they 
are  healed,  and  begin  to  abound  with  fish,  and 
fishers  stand  beside  it  from  Engedi  to  En-eglaim. 

This  has  been  the  course  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ.  Ever  since  the  river  of  the  water  of  life 
issued  from  the  Cross  it  has  been  deepening  and 
extending,  bringing  life  and  beauty  into  the  waste 
and  barren  wilderness  of  the  world.  The  trans- 
forming effects  of  the  Gospel  on  continents  and 
islands,  on  vast  multitudes  of  men,  can  be  com- 
pared to  nothing  less  than  the  fertilizing  effect  of 
a  mighty  river.  Flow  on,  great  sea  of  God,  until 
all  the  Dead  Sea  of  sin  is  swept  away  before  thy 
beneficent  waters  ! 

But  chiefly  we  want  this  more  abundant  life 
within  us.  Are  there  no  Dead  Seas,  no  marshes, 
no  waste  stretches  of  desert  sands?  Is  there  not 
urgent  need  that  the  lengthening  out  of  our  days 
should  see  a  deepening  of  the  river  until  it  rise 
beyond  our  depths  ?  We  need  the  ankle-depths 
of  walking  to  be  exchanged  for  the  knee-depths 
of  praying ;  and  these  for  the  loin-depths  of  per- 
fect purity ;  and  these  for  the  length,  depth, 
breadth,  and  height  of  the  love  of  Christ. 
170 


The  Lord  is  there. 

Ezek.  xlviii.  3^. 

EZEKIEL  has  in  view  an  ideal  city  ;  whether 
in  any  material  form  it  is  to  be  realized,  we  must 
wait  to  see.  But  this  shall  be  its  prominent  char- 
acteristic, that  God  will  be  there.  A  great  voice 
will  be  heard  out  of  heaven,  saying,  "  Behold,  the 
tabernacle  of  God  is  with  men,  and  He  will  dwell 
with  them,  and  they  shall  be  His  people ;  and 
God  Himself  shall  be  with  them  and  be  their 
God." 

There  is  comfort  in  this  for  the  sorrowful ;  be- 
cause where  God  is,  there  cannot  be  sorrow,  nor 
crying,  nor  pain.  God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears 
from  off  all  faces.  No  cypress-trees  line  the 
streets  of  that  city ;  no  dirge  intrudes  upon  the 
glad  ascription  of  praise ;  no  sob  or  groan  is  pos- 
sible. 

There  is  comfort  for  far-dissevered  friends  ; 
for  where  God  is,  the  centre  and  goal  and  home, 
all  His  children  meet.  Back  from  distant  lands 
and  spheres  they  come ;  home  from  the  school 
where  they  have  been  taught ;  back  from  the  voy- 
age ;  back  from  the  military  camp ;  back  from 
the  tour  of  exploration.  The  gates  stand  open  to 
admit  to  His  heart ;  and  that  heart  is  the  rendez- 
vous of  those  who  have  come  out  of  every  nation, 
and  kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people — never 
again  to  be  parted. 

There  is  cofnfort  for  the  doubting  and  per- 
plexed. Here,  night  often  reigns  over  the  heart 
of  Thomas  and  the  mind  of  Mary.  Truly  de- 
voted souls  grope  by  candle-light,  and  sometimes 
they  walk  in  darkness  and  have  no  light,  learn- 
ing to  walk  by  faith.  But  there  all  mysteries  will 
be  unravelled,  all  problems  solved,  every  question 
answered  ;  there  will  be  no  night,  no  need  of  sun 
or  moon,  for  the  glory  of  God  shall  lighten  it, 
and  the  Lamb  shall  be  the  lamp  thereof. 
ITl 


And  Daniel  continued  even  unto  the  first  year  of 
King  Cyrus.  Dan.  i.  21. 

IS  that  wonderful  ?  It  may  seem  so  when  you 
consider  the  uncertainty  of  Oriental  politics,  and 
the  feverish  haste  with  which  favorites  are  raised 
to  confidential  positions  and  thrust  back  again  to 
obscurity.  In  this  very  book  we  have  glimpses  of 
the  virulence  of  hatred  entertained  in  the  court 
of  Babylon  toward  Jews,  and  the  mortification 
with  which  aspirants  for  the  royal  favor  found  it 
monopolized  by  Daniel  and  his  friends.  But  we 
cease  to  wonder  when  we  turn  to  chap.  vi.  10, 
and  discover  Daniel's  habit  of  kneeling  upon  his 
knees  three  times  a  day,  praying  and  giving 
thanks  to  his  God.  Prayer  is  the  secret  of  con- 
tinuance. 

To  all  deep  lives  there  come  moments  of  se- 
rious questioning  :  Shall  I  be  able  to  hold  out  ? 
Shall  I  always  be  able  to  withstand  the  virulent 
hate  of  my  foes,  and  overcome  the  corruption  of 
my  heart  ?  Will  it  be  always  possible  to  meet  the 
strong  and  imperious  demands  of  duty,  and  the 
appeal  of  those  who  look  to  me  for  help?  Amid 
the  changes  that  the  years  may  bring,  will  it  be 
possible  to  maintain  my  ground  ?  Men  are  so 
capricious;  events  so  fluctuating  ;  the  sea  of  hu- 
man life  so  unstable.  To  all  such  suggestions 
there  is  but  one  reply — prayer  is  the  secret  of 
continuance. 

It  is  a  dangerous  temptation  of  the  adversary, 
so  writes  one  of  God's  hidden  ones,  when  up- 
right minds  suffer  themselves  to  be  completely 
cast  down  by  the  unbelieving — I  had  almost  said 
proud— y\t^  of  their  infirmities :  in  the  perform- 
ance of  God's  works  such  ought  only  to  humble 
themselves,  and  go  forward.  He  who  loves  and 
exercises  prayer,  will  in  due  time  be  translated 
from  self  unto  God  :  from  being  a  pitcher,  filled 
and  emptied,  to  a  river-bed. 
172 


Then  was  the  secret  revealed  in  a  night  vision. 

Dan.  a.  17,  18,  ig. 

THIS  prayer-meeting,  called  hurriedly,  must 
have  been  very  intense.  There  was  no  knowing 
whether  it  might  not  be  interrupted  before  it  was 
completed  by  the  guards  of  the  palace  summon- 
ing the  supplicants  to  die.  These  two  or  three 
were  gathered  in  the  name  of  God,  in  rooms 
which  never  before  had  heard  His  name.  But 
when  their  prayers  had  been  offered,  such  serene 
peace  resulted  that  Daniel  was  able  to  sleep  with 
the  utmost  composure ;  and  his  mind,  like  a 
mirror,  received  upon  its  placid  depths  the  im- 
pression of  God's  thoughts. 

It  is  a  test  of  prayer  having  attained  its  object, 
when  the  praying  soul  feels  there  is  no  need  to 
wrestle  longer,  and  the  sweet  assurance  is  borne 
in  that  God  has  received  our  supplication,  and 
that  further  words  are  needless.  This  serenity 
of  heart  shows  itself  in  the  unruffled  calm  of  the 
commercial  man  in  a  time  of  panic;  in  the 
quietness  of  the  soul  under  provocation ;  in  the 
stayedness  of  the  heart  on  God,  while  storms 
sweep  earth  and  sky. 

It  has  been  pointed  out  that  there  are  three 
New  Testament  words  for  prayer  to  which  we  do 
well  to  take  heed.  Be  sober  unto  prayer  (i 
Peter  iv.  7).  Do  not  be  drunk  with  worldly 
vanity,  business,  or  gaiety  ;  but  bring  a  humble, 
penitent,  clear,  and  sound  mind.  Be  at  leisure 
when  you  pray  (i  Cor.  vii.  5).  The  word  means 
that  prayer  is  not  to  be  hurried ;  that  nothing 
should  interfere  with  its  leisurely  enjoyment. 
Labor  at  prayer  (Col.  i.  29;  or  iv.  12).  As  a 
man  labors  at  his  daily  work,  or  strives  on  the 
battlefield,  or  agonizes  to  preserve  a  beloved 
friend  from  danger.  It  was  thus  that  Jesus 
labored  in  the  Garden  of  Gethsemane.  And  it 
was  thus  that  these  faithful  souls  must  have 
prayed. 

173 


LOf  I  see  four  men  loose. 

Dan.  Hi.  2^. 

THERE  was  no  doubt  about  their  being 
bound.  Their  turbans,  mantles,  and  other  gar- 
ments had  bound  their  limbs  so  tightly,  that 
when  first  they  reached  the  furnace  they  fell 
down  bound  in  its  midst.  Whatever  else  the 
fire  could  not  do,  it  at  least  freed  them,  so  that 
they  walked  loose  ;  and  the  dewy  glades  of  Para- 
dise were  not  more  fragrant  and  delightful  than 
were  those  white-hot  cinders. 

This  is  what  trial  has  often  done  for  us.  We 
had  become  conscious  of  the  binding  effect  of 
our  own  habits  which  we  had  permitted  as  com- 
paratively innocent ;  but  gradually  the  conviction 
grew  that  they  were  amongst  the  weights  that 
should  be  laid  aside.  Yet  they  clung  to  us  until 
some  fiery  trial  befell  us,  and  from  that  hour, 
through  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  we  were 
free.  Do  not  fear  the  fire.  It  cannot  hurt  one 
hair  of  your  head,  or  leave  the  smell  of  burning 
on  you ;  but  it  will  eat  out  the  alloy,  and  gnaw 
away  the  iron  bands  that  bound  you. 

"  Beat  on,  true  heart,  forever ! 

Shine  bright,  strong  golden  chain ; 
And  bless  the  cleansing  fire 

And  the  furnace  of  living  pain." 

But  Jesus  never  allows  His  beloved  to  walk  the 
fire  alone.  If  it  is  heated  seven  times  hotter 
than  its  wont,  this  is  only  the  reason  for  His  be- 
coming more  real,  as  our  living  and  glorious 
Friend.  There  always  goes  besides  the  tried 
saint,  though  not  always  patent  even  to  the  eye 
of  the  spirit,  another  whose  aspect  is  that  of  the 
Son  of  God.  Reach  out  thy  hands  to  Him, 
beloved — He  is  there.  The  Refiner  not  only 
watches  the  crucible.  He  is  in  it  with  thee.  In 
all  thy  affliction,  He  is  afflicted. 
174 


All  His  works  are  truths  and  His  zvays  judgment. 

Dan.  iv.  jj, 

THIS  is  the  confession  of  a  heathen  king ;  but 
how  true  it  is,  and  how  well  for  us,  if  we  dare  to 
affirm,  amid  all  the  appearances  to  the  contrary, 
and  all  the  shrinking  of  the  natural  man,  that  all 
God's  works  are  truth  and  His  ways  righteous, 
not  only  iii  the  wide  circumference  of  the  heavens, 
but  in  the  tiny  circle  of  our  little  life. 

The  main  lesson,  let  us  note  it,  which  this 
chapter  is  designed  to  teach,  and  which  Nebu- 
chadnezzar epitomizes  in  these  words,  is  the  ab- 
horrence with  which  God  regards  pride.  We 
are  all  tempted  to  walk  on  the  terrace  of  our 
palace,  and  say,  "Is  not  this  great  Babylon, 
which  I  have  built  by  the  might  of  my  power 
and  for  the  glory  of  my  majesty?"  But  to 
speak  thus  is  to  incur  the  displeasure  of  the  Most 
High,  who  giveth  the  kingdom  to  whomsoever 
He  will. 

If  thou  hast  achieved  a  position  of  wealth  and 
independence  and  success,  do  not  be  proud  of  it, 
as  though  it  were  all  of  thy  own  creating.  God 
gave  thee  power  to  get  wealth ;  raised  thee  to 
that  responsible  position  as  His  agent  and 
trustee ;  and  made  thy  name  as  one  of  the  great 
over  the  earth.  Give  Him  the  glory,  and  be 
sure  to  consider  thyself  only  as  His  steward,  en- 
trusted with  His  property,  and  continued  in  thy 
position  for  a  long  time  as  thou  art  faithful  in 
thine  administration. 

May  not  that  illness,  that  suspension  from  ac- 
tive work,  that  serious  deprivation,  have  been 
sent  to  thee,  as  this  madness  was  permitted  to 
come  to  the  King  of  Babylon,  that  thou  shouldest 
know  and  acknowledge  that  the  heavens  do  rule? 
Remember  that  the  watchers  and  the  holy  ones 
still  walk  the  world  with  viewless  footprints,  and 
give  in  their  account. 

175 


/  have  heard  of  thee,  that  thou  canst  make  inter- 
pretatio7is  a?id  dissolve  doubts.  Dan.  v.  i6. 

THE  perplexed  world  often  turns  to  the  Chris- 
tian in  its  hours  of  anguish  and  terror.  While 
the  foe  seems  powerless,  and  the  hall  of  life  is 
full  of  light  and  song;  while  the  merry  feet 
chase  the  flying  hours,  and  mirth  is  unrestrained  ; 
whilst  the  wine  flows  freely,  and  the  courtiers 
whisper  flattery — the  servant  of  God  may  be 
left  in  obscurity  and  neglect,  as  Daniel  by  Bel- 
shazzar.  At  such  times  God  Himself  is  an  object 
of  ridicule  and  scorn.  But  let  a  hand  come 
from  out  the  Infinite,  and  write  on  the  walls  of 
life's  palace  in  words  of  mystery,  then  the  panic- 
stricken  worldlings  cry  out  for  one  in  whom  is 
the  Spirit  of  the  Holy  God,  and  who  can  de- 
cipher the  mysterious  hieroglyphics,  which  to 
conscience  forebode  only  disaster. 

At  such  hours  the  child  of  God  is  kept  in  per- 
fect peace.  How  should  it  be  otherwise  ?  He 
recognizes  his  Father's  handwriting,  and  can  de- 
cipher his  Father's  meaning.  Amid  the  crash 
of  falling  kingdoms  he  is  sure  of  his  Father's 
care.  Oblivious  of  his  own  interests,  he  is  only 
anxious  to  interpret  the  ways  of  God,  to  recall 
the  sinner,  and  save  the  State. 

The  world  has  more  respect  for  our  religion 
than  it  cares  to  admit  in  its  gay  moods,  and  it  is 
noticing  us  more  than  we  dream.  Some  day 
those  who  treat  you  with  least  courtesy  will  send 
for  you.  Only  be  at  peace,  and  rest  in  your 
Father's  Spirit.  It  shall  be  given  you  in  that 
same  hour  what  ye  should  speak.  In  the  mean- 
while, do  not  be  surprised  if  you  are  led  through 
many  mysterious  and  trying  experiences.  It  is 
only  so  that  you  can  get  the  key  to  God's  se- 
crets, or  the  clue  to  His  mysteries.  Above  all, 
seek  for  the  Spirit  of  God,  that  light  and  under- 
standing and  excellent  wisdom  may  be  found  in 
thee. 

176 


No  manner  of  hurt  was  found  upon  him,  because 
he  had  trusted  in  his  God.         Dan  vi.  ^j  (r.  v.). 

BY  faith  they  shut  the  mouths  of  lions.  The 
lions'  den  is  not  an  old-world  experience  merely. 
God's  saints  still  dwell  among  lions,  and  fight 
with  the  wild  beasts  of  Ephesus.  Like  David, 
God's  people  have  abundant  cause  to  cry,  "  They 
have  compassed  us  in  our  steps :  they  set  their 
eyes  to  cast  us  down  to  the  earth.  He  is  like  a 
lion  that  is  greedy  of  his  prey,  and,  as  it  were,  a 
young  lion,  lurking  in  secret  places."  But  still 
God  sends  His  angel  to  shut  the  lions'  mouths ; 
still  faith  surrounds  us  with  His  unseen  protec- 
tion. Or,  if  the  lion  seems  to  triumph,  it  is  only 
in  appearance.  Was  not  the  martyr  Ignatius 
more  than  a  conqueror  when  he  said : 

"  I  bid  all  men  know  that  of  my  own  free  will 
I  die  for  God,  unless  ye  should  hinder  me.  I 
exhort  you,  be  ye  not  an  unseasonable  kindness 
to  me.  Let  me  be  given  to  the  wild  beasts,  for 
through  them  I  can  attain  unto  God.  I  am 
God's  wheat,  and  I  am  ground  by  the  teeth  of 
wild  beasts  that  I  may  be  found  pure  bread  of 
Christ.  Rather  entice  the  wild  beasts  that  they 
may  become  my  sepulchre,  and  may  leave  no 
part  of  my  body  behind ;  so  that  I  may  not, 
when  I  am  fallen  asleep,  be  burdensome  to  any 
one.  .  .  .  Now  I  am  beginning  to  be  a  disciple. 
May  naught  of  things  visible  and  things  invisible 
impede  me,  that  I  may  attain  unto  Jesus  Christ. 
Come  fire,  and  iron,  and  grapplings  with  wild 
beasts,  cuttings,  and  manglings,  crushings  of  my 
whole  body — only  be  it  mine  to  attain  unto  Jesus 
Christ." 

Whether  faith  closes  the  mouth  of  the  lion,  or 
gives  the  soul  such  an  entire  deliverance  from  all 
fear,  it  is  the  same  in  essence  and  operation,  and 
shows  its  heavenly  temper  with  the  ease  with 
which  it  overcomes  the  world. 
177 


There  was  given  Him  dominion,  and  glory,  and 
a  kingdom.  Dan.  vU.  14. 

JESUS  does  rule.  The  kingdom  of  Christ  is 
no  fanciful  phrase.  The  words  He  spoke,  the 
deeds  He  did,  have  shaped  the  religious  life  and 
thought  of  the  civilized  world.  But  this  is  the 
lowest  ground.  He  is  supreme  over  all  creation. 
In  Him  the  ancient  psalm  is  fulfilled,  "Thou 
hast  put  all  things  under  His  feet.  All  sheep 
and  oxen,  the  fowl  of  the  air,  the  fish  of  the  sea, 
and  the  beasts  of  the  field."  The  Father  hath 
set  Him  at  His  own  right  hand,  far  above  all 
principality  and  power ;  all  angels  do  His  bid- 
ding; all  demon-powers  are  beneath  His  feet. 
Joseph,  our  Brother,  is  King. 

But  let  us  never  forget  that  the  foundation  of 
His  kingdom  is  His  Cross.  We  want  more  than 
the  truth,  more  than  a  guide  to  show  the  way; 
we  need  forgiveness,  salvation,  life :  and  these 
are  only  possible  through  the  death  of  the  Re- 
deemer. Satan  offered  Him  the  kingdom  when 
he  met  Him  in  the  wilderness,  and  He  would  not 
have  it  on  such  terms.  With  face  set  for  Calvary, 
He  went  down  the  mountain  to  the  valley  of  the 
shadow  of  death ;  and  having  traversed  it.  He 
came  to  His  disciples  and  said,  ''All  power  is 
given  unto  Me  in  heaven  and  in  earth."  Thou 
art  the  King  of  Glory,  O  Christ;  for  Thou 
art  the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sins  of 
the  world. 

That  kingdom  is  an  everlasting  one.  **A11 
kingdoms  will  pass  away  before  Christ's  as  the 
chaff  of  the  summer  threshing-floor."  The 
shaking  of  the  kings  and  kingdoms  of  this  world 
has  already  begun,  and  is  destined  to  shake  to 
the  ground  the  most  stable  edifices  of  human 
pride ;  but  as  we  are  to  receive  a  kingdom  that 
cannot  be  moved,  let  us  not  be  troubled. 
178 


Then  I  rose  upj  and  did  the  king's  business. 

Dan.  viii.  2j. 

FEW  men  have  been  favored  with  such  visions 
and  revelations  as  fell  to  the  lot  of  Daniel.  The 
future,  in  so  many  different  aspects,  was  repeat- 
edly unfolded  before  him,  and  he  saw  much  that 
elated  and  that  depressed  him.  But  through  it 
all  he  steadily  did  the  king's  business;  so  far  as 
he  knew,  nothing  was  allowed  to  suffer  or  get  be- 
hind. He  would  have  counted  it  a  great  slur  on 
his  religious  life  if  it  could  have  been  said  that 
his  visions  and  exercises  interfered  with  his  serv- 
ice to  the  king.  Probably  he  did  better  work 
because  his  life  was  hid  with  God. 

In  all  this  there  is  much  of  suggestion  and 
warning.  We  too  must  have  our  secret  mount  of 
vision.  We  too  must  look  across  the  valley  for 
that  blessed  hope — the  glorious  appearing  of  our 
great  God  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  We  too 
must  have  the  vision  of  the  evenings  and  morn- 
ings. But  that  is  not  enough.  We  must  do  our 
business  in  the  world.  Not  star-gazing,  but  fol- 
lowing the  Star ;  not  always  standing  at  the  win- 
dow, but  going  to  and  fro  in  the  King's  house- 
hold, seeing  that  every  one  is  at  his  post,  and 
that  the  Royal  household  is  properly  fed  ;  not  al- 
ways on  the  mount  of  transfiguration,  but  hasten- 
ing whithersoever  the  uplifted  hand  of  human 
need  beckons  us. 

At  the  same  time,  it  will  quicken  us  to  do  our 
business  better  if  we  have  had  a  vision.  Noth- 
ing makes  so  good  a  workman  as  thorough  com- 
prehension of  his  Master's  purposes.  And  when 
Jesus  calls  us  not  servants  only,  but  friends,  we 
serve  Him  with  deep  appreciation  of  His  thoughts 
and  plans.  Our  service  is  more  refined,  diligent, 
and  intelligent.  Get  your  plan  in  the  mount, 
and  then  build. 

179 


At  the  beginning  of  thy  supplications  the  com- 
mandme7it  went  forth.  Dan  ix.  23  (r.  v.). 

THIS  is  always  so.  Directly  a  God-given 
prayer  is  uttered,  the  commandment  goes  forth. 
There  is  a  sense,  indeed,  in  which  true  prayer  is 
the  anticipation  in  the  human  heart  of  the  Divine 
intention  :  *'  Before  they  call  I  will  answer;  and 
whilst  they  are  yet  speaking  I  will  hear."  Does 
it  seem  as  though  your  prayer  were  like  a  ship  lost 
at  sea,  which  brings  no  cargo  home?  Dare  to 
believe  that  the  commandment  did  go  forth, 
though  as  yet  it  has  not  reached  you.  It  is 
operating ;  and  before  long  you  shall  see  the  re- 
sult. "  What  things  soever  ye  desire,  when  ye 
pray,  believe  that  ye  have  received  them."  The 
answer  may  not  have  come  to  hand,  but  it  has  been 
granted.  Even  if  you  do  not  live  to  see  the 
answer,  dare  to  believe  that  it  is  assured. 

What  a  tender  address  is  this — "greatly  be- 
loved" !  And  the  margin  says  very  precious. 
Is  it  really  so,  that  we  are  very  precious  to  God  ? 
To  those  who  believe,  Christ  is  precious  ;  but  how 
wonderful  that  they  should  be  amongst  His 
jewels,  who  were  born  of  the  first  Adam,  and 
have  cost  so  much  pain  and  sorrow  by  their  sins  ! 
There  is  no  accounting  for  love.  Directly  love 
begins  to  enumerate  the  reasons  for  its  attach- 
ment, it  ceases  to  be  true  love.  Love  knows  no 
law  except  the  drawing  of  an  inward  affinity. 
So  Jesus  draws  near  to  us.  We  are  very  precious 
to  Him.  To  have  our  love  well  compensates 
Him  for  all  His  bitter  sorrow.  Let  us  be  very 
careful  not  to  hurt  Him,  or  give  Him  needless 
grief.  And  when  we  pray,  let  it  be  with  the 
assurance  that  He  bends  over  us  and  says, 
"Thou  art  greatly  beloved;  ask  what  thou 
wilt."  As  soon  as  the  child  of  God  says 
"  Father,"  the  whole  Godhead  is  quick  to  hear 
His  request. 

180 


O  man  greatly  beloved ^  fear  not ;  peace  he  unto 
thee,  be  strofig,  yea,  be  strong.  Dan.  x.  jg. 

WHY  should  we  fear?  We  are  loved,  greatly 
beloved ;  loved  to  God's  uttermost;  loved  to  the 
gift  of  His  Only -begotten;  loved  to  tears;  loved 
to  blood-shedding  and  death.  It  is  said  that 
Jesus,  having  loved  His  own,  which  were  in  the 
world,  loved  them  nnto  the  eftd ;  not  to  the  end 
of  His  human  ministry,  but  to  the  uttermost  of 
what  love  can  be  (John  xiii.  i,  R.  v.,  marg.). 

Why  should  we  fear  ?  Has  God  done  so 
much,  and  will  He  not  do  all  ?  Has  He  brought 
us  out  of  Egypt  to  let  us  perish  in  the  wilder- 
ness ?  Is  He  so  careful  of  the  soul,  and  so  care- 
less of  all  beside?  There  are  mysteries — mys- 
teries of  life  and  death,  of  sin  and  sorrow,  of 
this  world  and  the  next ;  but  fear  not :  God  is 
ours,  and  we  are  His  by  immutable  and  indissolu- 
ble ties. 

Let  us  possess  ourselves  in  peace.  We  cannot 
understand,  but  we  can  trust.  We  may  not  know 
the  way  we  are  going,  but  we  can  lean  back  on 
the  heart  of  our  Guide ;  standing  in  the  cleft  of 
the  Rock  we  can  look  out  in  peace  on  dreaded 
evils  as  they  pass  away  together,  dismayed  and 
amazed.  If  only  we  are  aquainted  with  God, 
we  shall  be  at  peace,  and  thereby  good  will  come 
to  us.  They  fear  who  look  at  circumstances, 
and  not  into  God's  face. 

And  we  shall  be  strong — strong  to  endure ; 
strong  to  achieve ;  strong  to  wait ;  strong  to 
carry  the  battle  to  the  gate ;  strong  to  set  our 
face  like  a  flint,  when  the  hour  strikes  for  us  to 
go  to  the  cross  ;  strong  to  be  glad  when  the 
crowds  ebb  away  from  us  to  follow  the  dear 
Master,  Christ :  — 

«•  Be  strong  to  hope,  O  heart !  Though  day  is  bright, 
The  stars  can  only  shine  in  the  dark  night. 
Be  strong,  O  heart  of  mine,  and  look  toward  the  light." 
181 


The  people   that  do   k?iow   their    God  shall  be 
strong,  and  do  exploits.  Dan.  xi.  32. 

DANIEL  probably  refers  to  the  great  persecu- 
tion under  Antiochus,  when  the  followers  of 
Judas  Maccabaeus,  knowing  their  God,  and  keep- 
ing loyal  to  Him  amidst  the  general  defection, 
refused  to  bow  before  the  idols  of  Syria.  These 
were  strong  in  God's  strength,  and  did  exploits 
never  surpassed  in  the  annals  of  those  who  have 
suffered  for  the  truth. 

There  are  many  ways  of  knowing  God — 
through  the  Bible,  in  solitary  meditation,  and 
preeminently  in  the  person  of  Jesus ;  but  we  also 
come  to  know  Him  by  the  daily  experience  and 
intercourse  of  life.  Those  who  live  with  you  in 
the  same  house  know  and  read  you  in  an  inti- 
macy of  knowledge  which  no  other  method  can 
rival.  Learn  to  live  with  God  !  Summer  and 
winter  with  Him  !     "  Abide  in  Him  !  " 

In  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  there  are  three 
prayers,  which  the  apostle  was  wont  to  offer  for 
his  converts.  First,  that  they  might  know; 
next,  that  they  might  be  strong ;  lastly,  that  they 
might  watch  unto  prayer.  All  our  knowledge  of 
God  should  be  turned  to  practical  use.  Few 
things  injure  us  more  than  to  seek  knowledge  for 
its  own  sake.     Know,  that  you  may  do. 

Then  you  will  be  strong  to  do  exploits.  When 
a  man  is  sure  of  his  base  of  operations  ;  sure  that 
those  in  the  rear  of  his  march  will  back  him  up; 
sure  that  a  strong  and  wise  friend  behind  him  is 
pledged  to  his  support — his  heart  is  at  peace,  he 
can  concentrate  all  his  attention  and  energy  on 
the  work  that  is  on  hand.  He  has  no  care,  the 
Greek  word  for  which  means  division.  When  we 
really  know  God,  and  understand  how  utterly 
faithful  He  is  to  those  who  venture  forth  in  faith, 
we  can  do  what  others  dare  not  attempt. 
182 


Go  thou  thy  way  till  the  end  be. 

Dan.  xii.  jj. 

MAN  becomes  mystified  with  the  great  circle 
of  God's  Providence.  He  tries  to  follow  it,  but 
his  eyesight  fails ;  his  heart  and  head  grow 
weary.  And  God  says,  It  is  enough — go  thy 
way  till  the  end  be :  learn  thy  lesson ;  do  thy 
work ;  tread  the  predetermined  path  :  it  is 
enough  that  thou  shouldst  fulfill  thy  little  day; 
evening  will  be  here  presently,  and  then  thou 
shalt  rest ;  leave  the  evolution  of  My  vast  schemes 
to  Me;  I  will  bring  all  right ;  and  *' thou  shalt 
stand  in  thy  lot  at  the  end  of  the  days." 

Thy  way. — For  every  one  that  way  is  pre- 
pared ;  identical  in  the  main  outlines,  but  special 
for  the  footsteps  that  are  destined  to  tread  it. 
There  are  three  elements,  which  are  almost  cer- 
tainly present — Suffering,  the  strain  of  Toil,  and 
Temptation.  So  long  as  the  blight  of  the  curse 
lingers  on  our  earth,  these  will  be  the  ingredients 
in  our  cup.  But  let  us  go  on  our  way.  It  is 
graduated  to  our  steps.  God's  grace  will  be 
sufficient  for  us. 

Our  lot. — What  will  it  be?  As  Canaan  was 
allotted,  so  will  heaven  be.  Where  shall  we 
stand  ?  Among  the  overcomers,  or  the  martyrs, 
or  the  virgin  souls  that  follow  the  Lamb  whither- 
soever He  goeth,  or  those  that  get  the  victory 
over  the  Beast  ?  Or  shall  our  lot  be  amongst 
those  who  have  buried  their  talents,  forgotten 
their  oil,  and  proved  disobedient  and  self-indul- 
gent? "Make  us  to  be  numbered  with  Thy 
saints  in  glory  everlasting." 

Thou  shalt  Rest. — Heaven  will  be  to  each  soul 
what  it  most  desires,  and  has  missed  on  earth. 
To  the  lonely,  Love :  to  those  that  hunger  and 
thirst  for  righteousness,  Holiness :  to  those  who 
have  dwelt  amid  perpetual  warring  and  strife, 
Peace  :  to  the  weary,  Rest — and  to  all  the  vision 
of  God  in  Christ. 

183 


He   went    and   took     Gofner^    the   daughter    of 
Diblaim.  Hosea  i.  j. 

UNDER  the  glorious  reign  of  Jeroboam,  Israel 
had  become  very  prosperous ;  but  this  period  of 
wealth  was  one  of  shameless  idolatry,  self-indul- 
gence, and  oppression  of  the  poor.  The  people 
were  unfaithful  to  their  marriage  covenant  with 
Jehovah ;  yet  He  loved  them  still.  With  the 
love  that  a  husband  may  bear  to  the  woman  who 
is  mother  of  his  children,  but  who  has  shown 
herself  worthless  or  abandoned,  so  God  still 
loved,  and  wooed,  and  sought  to  reclaim.  All 
this  was  set  forth  in  Hosea's  sad  personal  his- 
tory. 

He  married  one  who  was  probably  well  known 
at  the  court  for  her  infidelities.  Her  children's 
names  were  all  significant.  The  first  was  called 
Jezreel,  to  indicate  their  prophetic  import ;  the 
daughter,  *' Unpitied  "  ;  the  third  child,  "Not 
My  People";  and  these  children  were  accus- 
tomed, in  after  years,  to  go  between  the  prophet 
and  his  wife  and  plead  with  her.  *' Plead  with 
your  mother,  plead." 

What  a  living  picture  this  is  of  God's  relations 
to  ourselves  !  He  has  loved  us,  not  because  we 
were  pure,  and  holy,  and  lovely;  for,  in  fact, 
He  knew  that  we  were  the  very  reverse.  But 
with  the  clear  prevision  of  our  native  sin  and  un- 
faithfulness, He  took  us  into  covenant  relation- 
ship with  Himself.  Not  because  we  were  good, 
but  to  make  us  so ;  not  because  we  were  faithful, 
but  to  lead  us  to  be  so.  He  has  given  us  all 
kinds  of  blessings.  But,  alas,  how  ill  we  have 
requited  Him  !  We  have  departed  from  Him, 
and  grossly  betrayed  His  trust ;  till  He  has  been 
reluctantly  obliged  to  leave  us  to  ourselves.  But 
He  waits  to  be  gracious ;  and  if  we  repent  and 
turn  to  Him,  He  will  say  to  us,  Ammi,  My  peo- 
ple ;  and  Ruhamah,  thou  hast  obtained  mercy. 
184 


The  valley  of  Achor for  a  door  of  hope. 

Hosea  it.  ij. 

WE  are  familiar  with  the  story  of  the  valley  of 
Achor,  where  Achan  the  troubler  of  Israel  was 
stoned  to  death.  We  can  almost  fancy  the  long 
stony  valley  through  which  again  the  house  of 
Israel  was  made  to  pass.  The  prophet  foresaw 
the  heavy  judgments  which  were  about  to  fall 
upon  the  land,  as  God  took  back  His  corn  and 
wine  and  flax,  and  laid  waste  their  vines  and  fig- 
trees.  It  seemed  as  though  the  nation  were  again 
in  the  valley  of  trouble ;  and  as  the  people  take 
their  weary  way,  dropping  with  fatigue  and  priva- 
tion, behold,  a  door  suddenly  opens  in  the  stony 
wall  of  flint,  through  which  they  pass  into  a  land 
of  corn,  and  wine,  and  wifely  loyalty  to  their 
true  husband.  Thus  the  traveller  piercing  the 
Alps  will,  within  the  space  of  an  hour,  leave  the 
northern  slopes  of  ice  and  snow,  and  emerge 
upon  the  fertile  plains  of  Italy. 

It  is  a  beautiful  similitude,  and  one  that  still 
has  its  counterpart  in  spiritual  experience.  You, 
too,  are  in  the  valley  of  Achor — brought  there 
in  consequence  of  your  sins  ;  your  life  is  over- 
cast; your  heart  desolate.  Ah,  how  different  it 
is  with  you  now,  compared  with  those  first  glad 
days  when  you  went  out  after  God,  in  the  kind- 
ness of  your  youth,  and  the  love  of  your  es- 
pousals !  God  cannot  leave  you.  He  comes  and 
pleads,  **  Return  unto  Me;  thou  art  Mine." 
Will  you  answer  His  tender  pleading  with  repent- 
ance, faith,  and  prayer?  Will  you  cry,  "Oh 
that  it  were  with  me  as  in  the  first  days!" 
Then,  immediately,  right  before  you,  the  door 
of  hope  will  spring  open  ;  and  you  will  pass  from 
winter  to  summer;  from  ice  to  vernal  heat. 
Dare  to  believe  that  in  your  Valley  of  Achor  there 
is  but  a  door  between  you  and  the  Divine  betrothal 
— only  a  step. 

185 


Afterward  shall  the  children  of  Israel  return^ 
and  seek  the  Lord  their  God.  Hosea  Hi.  5. 

THE  unfaithful  wife  had  left  husband  and 
children,  and  sunk  into  abject  poverty  and 
shameful  disgrace  ;  but  Hosea  is  bidden  to  seek 
her  again  and  bring  her  to  his  home.  It  was  a 
wonderful  act  of  condescending  love  on  his  part, 
to  be  willing  to  condone  the  past  and  take  the 
poor  stricken  thing  to  his  well-ordered  dwelling. 
Nothing  could  have  done  it  but  the  strong  love 
which  had  followed  her  through  all  her  wander- 
ings, refusing  to  let  her  go.  We  cannot  certainly 
affirm  that  Hosea's  love  succeeded  in  making  his 
Guinevere  fair  and  lovely  again ;  but  we  may 
cherish  the  hope  that  in  this  his  compassionate 
love  was  recompensed. 

Through  the  tragedy  of  the  prophet's  domestic 
life,  the  people  were  called  to  see  the  mystery  of 
the  Divine  faithful  love.  "  The  Lord  loveth  the 
children  of  Israel,  though  they  turn  unto  other 
gods  and  love  cakes  of  raisins"  (ver.  i,  r.  v.). 
The  people  in  their  wandering  and  rebellion  had 
been  unfaithful  to  the  marriage,  vow  plighted  at 
Sinai.  They  had  gone  after  many  lovers ;  but 
God's  redeeming  love  would  not  let  them  go. 
That  love  still  follows  them  ;  and  though  they 
have  been  for  so  many  centuries  without  king, 
prince,  sacrifice,  or  temple ;  they  shall  doubtless 
return  to  God.  And  is  not  this  marvellous  Zion- 
ist movement  one  further  step  toward  the  ulti- 
mate recognition  and  reunion  ? 

You,  too,  have  been  without  king  or  priest; 
without  tears  of  penitence,  or  smiles  of  conscious 
acceptance.  But  the  love  of  God  has  never 
ceased  to  follow  you.  And  now,  in  your  abject 
need,  He  seeks  you  out,  and  says,  "Be  for  Me 
only."  Will  you  not  come  back  to  the  goodness 
of  God  in  these  your  latter  days  ? 
18G 


The  Lord  hath  a  controversy  with  the  inhabitants 
of  the  land.  Hosea  iv.  /,  j. 

THROUGHOUT  the  Old  Testament  the  sin 
of  the  people  and  the  prosperity  or  otherwise  of 
their  country  are  closely  conjoined.  If  the 
people  please  God,  harvests  are  plentiful,  and 
the  seasons  of  the  year  pursue  their  round  in  un- 
broken bounty.  If  the  people  backslide,  the 
land  is  smitten.  There  is  probably  a  much 
deeper  connection  than  we  suppose  between  the 
moral  condition  of  our  nation  and  its  prosperity. 
It  is  at  least  remarkable  that  ever  since  the  In- 
dian Government  has  legalized  impurity  in  In- 
dia, and  has  made  money  out  of  the  vices  of 
Chinamen,  that  empire  has  been  smitten  with 
drought  and  pestilence.  So  with  Africa;  the 
injustice  with  which  the  natives  have  been 
treated  has  been  terribly  avenged  in  the  rinder- 
pest which  has  swept  over  the  land.  And  may 
there  not  be  a  close  connection  between  the  vice. 
Sabbath-breaking,  and  drunkenness  of  Great  Brit- 
ain, and  the  agricultural  distress  which  has  so 
long  driven  our  people  from  the  open  country  to 
life  in  the  cities  ?  It  is  an  awful  thing  when  God 
has  a  controversy  with  the  inhabitants  of  the 
land.     Sin  is  then  terribly  avenged. 

One  noticeable  feature  with  all  the  prophets  is 
their  intense  devotion  to  God  on  the  one  hand, 
and  their  ardent  patriotism  on  the  other.  They 
never  scrupled  to  denounce  the  sins  which  were 
bringing  their  land  to  desolation,  and  to  indi- 
cate the  inevitable  result.  In  the  present  in- 
stance, Hosea  turned  on  the  priests  and  showed 
how  accountable  they  were  for  the  desolation  of 
the  country. 

On  a  wider  scale  still,  we  remember  that  crea- 
tion groaneth  and  travaileth  in  pain  because  of 
sin  ;  and  its  emancipation  awaits  the  advent  of 
the  Lord,  and  the  manifestation  of  His  saints 
(Rom.  viii.  21). 

187 


/  will  go  and  return  to  My  place,  till  they  acknowl- 
edge their  offence,  and  seek  My  face.     Hosea  v.  75. 

THE  withdrawal  of  God's  countenance  and 
protection  involved  the  exile  of  Israel  from  their 
own  land.  No  weapon  formed  against  them 
could  prosper,  so  long  as  they  walked  with  their 
Almighty  Friend ;  but  sin  severed  them  from  His 
care,  and  cut  them  adrift  to  be  swept  before  the 
storm  of  the  invader. 

There  is  always  a  '*  till  "  in  God's  withdrawals. 
He  tears  that  He  may  heal ;  goes  that  He  may 
come ;  leaves,  that  He  may  return  so  soon  as  the 
afflicted  soul  is  led  to  seek  His  face.  May  not 
this  be  your  lot?  You  seem  deserted  by  man 
and  God ;  life  is  going  very  hardly  with  you ; 
thick  darkness  broods  over  your  soul,  and  sore 
affliction  devastates  your  life;  yes,  and  worse  is 
threatened.  But  is  there  not  an  offence  some- 
where that  needs  to  be  acknowledged  ;  a  sin  that 
should  be  confessed  ? 

Search  yourself  by  the  suggestions  of  this 
chapter.  Have  you  in  any  way  been  a  snare  or 
a  net  to  other  souls,  injuring  them  by  your  ex- 
ample or  conversation  (ver.  i)  ?  Have  you  been 
unfaithful  to  your  immortal  lover,  Christ  (ver. 
3)?  Have  you  become  proud  of  any  of  God's 
gifts,  or  the  position  to  which  they  have  lifted 
you  (ver.  5)?  Have  you  been  grasping  and 
fraudulent,  like  those  who  secretly  remove  the 
landmark  to  include  a  little  more  of  their  neigh- 
bor's lands  with  their  own  (ver.  10)  ?  Have  you 
willingly  walked  after  the  statutes  of  Omri  (ver. 
II,  and  I  Kings  xvi.  25)  ?  Have  you  gone  for  help 
away  from  God  to  some  unhallowed  alliance, 
such  as  is  represented  by  King  Jareb,  the  Assyr- 
ian, whose  alliance  Israel  sought  (ver.  13)  ? 
Ask  God  what  controversy  He  has  with  you,  and 
put  it  away.  You  will  be  astonished  to  discover 
what  evils  you  have  been  harboring.  But  the 
result  will  be  salutary  indeed. 
188 


Let  us  follow  on  to  know  the  Lord ;  His  going 
forth  is  sure  as  the  morning,     Hosea  vi.  3  (r.  v.). 

YOU  may  always  count  on  God.  If  there  is 
variation  in  His  relations  with  us,  it  is  on  our 
side,  not  on  His.  Just  as  surely  as  we  return  to 
Him,  we  shall  find  Him  running  to  meet  and 
greet  and  receive  us  with  a  glad  welcome. 

The  exquisite  words  of  the  text  derive  addi- 
tional beauty  when  we  consider  them  in  the  light 
of  modern  astronomy.  The  spot  on  which  we 
live,  when  the  day  is  done,  slowly  turns  away 
from  the  face  of  the  sun ;  and  as  each  moment 
passes,  plunges  further  and  further  from  its  whole- 
some, blessed  light.  At  midnight  we  look  out 
into  the  abyss  of  space  in  the  opposite  direction 
to  the  solar  throne.  But  the  moment  when  we 
have  reached  our  furthest  from  the  sun  is  fol- 
lowed by  another,  in  which  we  begin  to  return 
to  the  light  and  glory  of  the  perfect  day.  So 
when  the  soul  has  reached  its  furthest  from  God, 
it  may  immediately  return  to  Him.  Let  us  re- 
turn. Let  us  know.  Let  us  follow  on  to  know 
the  Lord. 

Is  there  any  doubt  about  our  reception  ?  No ; 
there  cannot  be.  Look  again  at  the  analogy  of 
the  physical  night.  During  our  absence  the  sun 
has  not  shifted  from  his  place.  We  shall  find 
him  waiting  for  us;  his  going  forth  is  prepared. 
We  have  but  to  pass  into  his  blessed  beams,  which 
had  not  ceased  to  pour  forth  through  the  hours, 
which  to  us  were  so  cold  and  dark.  So  our  God 
is  always  waiting  for  us.  He  is  just  where  we 
left  Him.  In  Him  can  be  no  variation,  neither 
shadow  that  is  cast  by  turning.  As  certainly  as 
we  count  on  the  dayspring  may  we  count  on  God. 
Move  then  Godwards,  through  the  dark  hours. 
On  the  third  day — the  day  of  Resurrection — He 
will  burst  on  your  view. 

189 


Grey  hairs  are  here  and  there  upon  him,  yet  he 
knoweth  not.  Hosea  vii.  g. 

SIN  in  its  worst  forms  was  prevalent  among  the 
people,  and  secretly  deteriorated  their  strength. 
Of  this,  however,  they  were  unconscious;  but 
imagined  that  they  were  as  strong  as  at  other 
times,  anticipating  long  years  of  national  pros- 
perity. They  little  weened  that  they  had  reached 
the  old  age  of  their  history,  with  its  attendant 
decrepitude  and  helplessness.  What  a  striking 
illustration  of  the  insidious  process  of  decay,  of 
unconscious  deterioration,  of  the  departure  of  the 
Samson-might  while  we  wist  it  not. 

But  is  not  this  always  the  case  with  the  initial 
stages  of  backsliding,  of  which  this  is  the  most 
dangerous  element,  that  we  are  so  largely  unaware 
of  the  change  that  has  come  over  us?  Grad- 
ually and  almost  insensibly  we  lose  our  watchful- 
ness over  our  thoughts ;  our  relish  for  the  society 
of  God's  people ;  our  delight  in  God's  house ; 
our  interest  in  the  salvation  of  others ;  our  sen- 
sitiveness of  conscience  as  to  the  conventionali- 
ties of  trade  or  society.  We  do  not  realize  it ; 
we  are  not  specially  concerned  ;  we  have  no  idea 
that  the  white  ant  is  eating  out  the  substance  of 
our  furniture,  and  the  dry-rot  undermining  the 
rafters  of  our  house.  Strangers  are  devouring 
our  strength ;  grey  hairs  are  indicating  our  de- 
cay— to  all  eyes  but  our  own.  We  grow  grey 
almost  imperceptibly ;  the  strength  of  our  man- 
hood is  very  slowly  undermined  ;  the  degrees  of 
spiritual  declension  are  as  the  fall  of  the  year 
through  the  last  days  of  summer.  But  it  need 
not  be  if  we  would  regard  ourselves  in  the  mirror 
of  God's  Word. 

"  It  is  strange  :  but  life's  currents  drift  us 
So  surely  and  swiftly  on, 
That  we  scarcely  notice  the  changes 
And  how  many  things  are  gone." 
190 


I  write  for  him  7ny  law  in  ten  thousand  precepts, 

Hosea  viii.  12  (R.  v.). 

THE  A.  V.  slightly  differs  here  :  "I  have  writ- 
ten to  him  the  great  things  of  my  law,  but  they 
were  counted  as  a  strange  thing."  God's  will  is 
so  all-sided  and  far-reaching  in  its  scope,  that  it 
cannot  be  contained  in  one  precept  or  a  thousand. 
It  needs  ten  thousand  precepts  to  set  forth  its 
heights,  and  lengths,  and  breadths,  and  to  cover 
all  the  circumstances  of  our  lives.  But  how 
thoughtful  God  is  in  anticipating  our  ten  thou- 
sand difficulties,  perplexities,  and  questions ;  and 
in  directing  us  how  He  would  wish  us  to  act. 
Anticipating  all  the  steps  of  our  life,  God  has 
written  ten  thousand  precepts  to  guide  us. 

But  what  great  things  have  been  unfolded  to 
us  in  the  Law  of  God — using  that  term  to  cover 
the  entire  compass  of  revelation.  Mysteries 
which  pass  the  conception  of  angels  have  been 
placed  within  the  reach  of  men.  Our  Father  has 
beckoned  us  to  share  with  Him  the  sublimest  se- 
crets of  His  government. 

Let  us  not  count  them  as  strange  things.  We 
often  say  to  one  another  :  "Do  not  treat  me  as  a 
stranger."  And  is  not  this  the  sense  in  which  we 
may  get  estranged  from  the  word  and  thought  of 
God — keeping  them  only  for  special  times ;  giv- 
ing them  courtly  entertainment ;  but  refusing  to 
admit  them  to  the  familiarity  of  daily  intercourse? 
Nothing  hurts  God  more  than  this  I  Never  per- 
form your  daily  duties  as  though  God  must  be 
shut  out  from  them.  If  you  keep  one  day  sacred, 
it  is  that  all  time  may  be  sanctified  :  if  you  keep 
one  place  private  for  prayer  and  worship,  it  is 
that  the  light  which  shines  there  may  irradiate 
all  the  places  of  your  daily  occupation ;  if  you 
keep  one  meal  for  special  meditation  on  the  love 
of  Jesus,  it  is  that  whether  ye  eat  or  drink,  or 
whatever  ye  do,  all  should  be  done  for  Him. 
191 


Ephraim  was  a  watchman  with  my  God. 

Hosea  ix.  8  (r.  v.). 

WATCH  with  God.— To  watch  with  God  is 
the  privilege  of  comparatively  few.  Eight  were 
left  outside  the  garden  ;  to  three  only  did  Jesus 
say,  **  Come  and  watch."  To  watch  for  the 
morning  star,  for  the  first  flowers  of  the  coming 
spring,  for  the  coming  of  the  Bridegroom,  for 
the  setting  up  of  the  Kingdom — such  is  the  privi- 
lege of  those  elect  souls  who  are  bidden  to  take 
their  lamps,  and  go  forth  to  meet  the  Bridegroom. 
It  is  a  high  honor  to  be  appointed  to  watch  with 
God  the  slow  evolution  of  His  purpose ;  to  stand 
on  the  watch-tower  and  see  what  He  will  say ;  to 
be  a  watchman  for  the  people,  a  spokesman  of 
their  danger  when  the  sword  approaches;  to  be 
allowed  to  enter  into  some  of  His  tears,  and 
yearnings,  and  prayers,  as  He  beholds  the  city 
and  weeps  over  it. 

Watch  against  sin. — But  we  may  be  displaced 
from  that  position  of  privilege  and  responsibility 
as  Israel  was.  We  learn  that  at  this  time  the 
chosen  had  deeply  corrupted  themselves,  as  in  the 
darkest  days  of  the  Judges ;  and  we  may  fall  into 
similar  corruption  and  rebellion,  unless  we  watch 
ourselves,  whilst  we  watch  with  God.  Let  us 
watch  and  pray,  lest  we  enter  into  temptation. 
Corruption  is  always  around  us  in  this  world  of 
death.  Its  germs  float  on  every  breeze.  We 
need,  therefore,  to  steep  ourselves  in  the  antisep- 
tic of  the  Holy  Spirit's  grace.  This  is  the  true 
Eucalyptus  in  which  the  germs  of  disease  perish. 

Watch  unto  Prayer. — "  Prayer,"  said  Phillips 
Brooks,  "  is  not  compelling  God's  reluctance,  but 
laying  hold  of  God's  willingness."  It  is  as 
though  we  waited  for  God's  movements  to  bless 
us,  and  taking  the  stream  at  the  flow,  launched 
our  heavy  barge  upon  it,  that  His  power  might 
bear  us  forward. 

192 


Break  up  your  fallow  ground ;  for  it  is  time  to 
seek  the  Lord.  Hosea.  x.  12. 

THE  fallow  ground. — There  is  a  great  deal 
of  fallow  ground  in  our  hearts  and  lives ;  it  has 
borne  no  crops  of  righteousness.  Weeds  have 
covered  the  unfruitful  acres  with  their  rank 
growth,  and  have  scattered  their  thistledown  into 
other  lots.  The  rain  has  fallen  and  the  sun  has 
shone  in  vain.  In  some  cases  our  daily  business 
life — in  other  cases  our  social  life — is  a  blank,  so 
far  as  religious  usefulness  is  concerned.  God 
gets  no  revenue  from  these  barren  fallow  tracts. 
But  the  prophet  bids  us  ascertain  what  they  are, 
and  break  up  the  hard,  caked  surface  by  plough- 
share and  spade. 

Breaking  up  the  clods. — In  his  great  sermon 
on  this  text,  Finney  exhorts  to  break  up  the  fal- 
low ground  by  the  payment  of  neglected  debts ; 
the  putting  aside  of  evil  habits;  the  righting  of 
old  wrongs ;  the  forgiveness  of  old  injuries. 

It  is  time  to  seek  the  Lord. — The  days  are  pass- 
ing over  us  so  rapidly,  and  we  shall  be  at  the  end 
before  we  are  well  aware.  "It  is  high  time  to 
awake  out  of  sleep ;  ...  the  night  is  far  past, 
the  day  is  at  hand."  May  not  the  time  past  suf- 
fice us  to  have  been  barren  and  unfruitful ;  and 
shall  we  not  make  the  best  of  the  time  which  re- 
mains? 

He  will  come  and  rain. — What  a  glorious 
promise  !  He  will  come  and  rain  down  right- 
eousness. It  is  parallel  to  the  words  of  the 
psalm  :  "  Righteousness  hath  looked  down  from 
heaven."  It  is  certain  that  righteousness  will 
never  spring  up  in  the  furrows  of  our  souls  unless 
it  has  come  down  to  us  from  the  heart  of  God. 
In  us  are  only  the  dark,  bare,  liveless  clods,  lying 
open  in  their  need  :  in  Him  all  that  is  pure,  and 
holy,  and  righteous — but  God  waits  to  rain  it 
down  in  plentiful  showers. 
193 


/  taught  Ephrai7n  to  go. 

Hosea  xi.  j. 

THIS  is  very  touching.  It  is  one  of  the  sweet- 
est, tenderest  words  in  the  Bible — a  metaphor  bor- 
rowed fresh  from  the  nursery.  What  an  epoch  it 
is  in  the  child's  life  when  it  first  gets  upon  its 
feet !  The  mother  sets  it  there,  or  it  manages  to 
get  up  by  itself.  But  it  dare  not  walk ;  it  must 
be  taught  to  go.  Sometimes  the  mother  holds 
the  clothes  from  behind,  or  reaches  out  her  hands 
in  front,  or  hovers  around  the  little  hesitating 
figure  with  outstretched  arms  to  guard  against  the 
first  sign  of  tumbling.  The  lesson  is  not  learned 
all  at  once.  Sometimes  many  a  sad  fall  tutors 
the  venturesome  pupil ;  but  the  mother  is  not  dis- 
couraged. With  a  kiss  and  a  **  never  mind  "  she 
puts  the  little  one  on  its  feet  again,  and  teaches 
it  to  go. 

God  is  teaching  us  to  go.  He  holds  our  hands 
in  His ;  walks  beside  us  with  outstretched  arms 
to  see  that  we  do  not  fall  to  our  entire  undoing  ; 
catches  us  when  we  are  about  to  stumble,  and 
picks  us  up  when  we  have  fallen  to  our  hurt. 
God  is  never  discouraged,  any  more  than  the 
mother  is ;  and  the  more  weak  our  ankle-bones 
and  nervous  our  gait  the  more  care  does  He  ex- 
pend. 

There  are  stages  beyond  this.  There  is  the 
walk  that  pleases  God ;  the  running,  when  He 
has  enlarged  our  heart ;  the  mounting  up  with  the 
wings  of  eagles.  But  at  the  end  of  life  we  come 
back  to  the  going:  I  will  go  unto  the  altar  of 
God,  to  God  my  exceeding  joy ;  and  upon  the 
harp  I  will  praise  Thee,  O  God,  my  God. 

"  I  have  no  help  but  Thine,  nor  do  I  need 
Another  arm  save  Thine  to  lean  upon ! 
It  is  enough,  my  Lord,  enough  indeed; 

My  strength  is  in  Thy  might,  Thy  might  alone  1 " 

194 


By  his  strength  he  had  power  with  God. 

Hosea  xii.  j. 

JACOB'S  strength  lay  in  his  weakness.  As 
long  as  he  seemed  strong,  and  was  able  to  oppose 
force  to  force,  he  failed  of  the  highest  blessing; 
but  when  the  sinew  of  his  thigh  shrivelled  be- 
neath the  angel's  touch,  and  was  out  of  joint ; 
when  he  was  in  imminent  danger  of  falling 
helplessly  to  the  ground — he  prevailed,  and  re- 
ceived the  name  of  Israel  the  Prince. 

The  eloquence  of  tears. — "  He  wept."  There 
is  no  record  of  these  tears  in  Genesis,  but  we  can 
well  understand  that  they  flowed  freely.  The 
entire  results  of  Jacob's  life — wife,  children,  and 
fortune — were  at  stake.  With  one  fell  sweep, 
Esau  on  the  morrow  might  reduce  him  to  the 
loneliness  with  which  he  had  passed  over  Jordan 
years  before.  God  is  touched  by  tears.  He  puts 
them  in  His  bottle.  He  hears  the  voice  of  our 
weeping,  and  interprets  it. 

The  power  of  prayer. — *'  He  made  supplica- 
tion." **I  will  not  let  Thee  go  unless  Thou 
bless  me."  Remember  how  the  Syro-Phenician 
mother  cast  herself  at  the  Saviour's  feet,  and 
pleaded  for  help.  The  Lord  kept  her  waiting 
till  her  prayer  had  reached  a  pitch  which  only 
delay  could  have  induced,  and  then  turned  to  her 
with  the  assurance  that  all  she  had  claimed  was 
hers.  You  may  be  kept  in  the  attitude  of  prayer 
through  the  long  night,  but  at  daybreak  you  may 
receive  what  you  sought. 

The  strength  of  weakness. — As  long  as  we  can 
stand  and  hold  our  own,  we  fail  of  our  quest. 
When  we  are  lamed  and  broken,  and  unable  to 
do  more  than  cling,  we  realize  God's  hidden 
stores  of  blessed  help.  The  sick  child  elicits 
most  of  the  mother's  love.  The  last-born  babe 
drags  down  to  the  level  of  its  tiny  mouth  its 
strong  and  brawny  father. 
195 


O  death,  where  are  thy  plagues  ?    O  grave,  where 
is  thy  destruction  ?  Hosea  xiii.  14  (r.  v.). 

THESE  words  are  made  familiar  to  us  in  the 
magnificent  apostrophe  with  which  Paul's  great 
resurrection  chapter  closes.  They  have  been  re- 
cited for  centuries  over  Christian  graves. 

In  their  first  utterance  they  record  Jehovah's 
resolve  to  deliver  His  people,  in  spite  of  all  their 
sins.  The  conflict  in  the  Divine  heart  between 
hatred  of  the  abominable  idolatries  by  which  they 
were  cursed,  and  His  ancient,  unalterable  love, 
gives  this  chapter,  and  indeed  the  whole  book, 
its  remarkably  disjointed  character.  There  is 
hardly  a  paragraph  which  is  not  marked  by  ab- 
rupt transitions,  agitation  of  speech,  appeals,  en- 
quiries, expressions  of  infinite  regret.  But  not- 
withstanding all,  God  had  given  commandment 
to  bless,  and  He  neither  could  nor  would  reverse 
it.  Let  death  and  Hades  do  their  worst  against 
His  chosen.  He  was  stronger  far. 

In  these  intermediate  ages  these  words  may  be 
quoted  over  every  Christian's  death,  whether  it 
be  a  martyrdom  or  the  quiet  yielding  up  of  life. 
In  comparison  with  the  great  gain  that  death 
brings  to  those  who  pass  to  the  **far  better"  of 
being  with  Christ,  wherein  are  we  losers  by  it? 
Nay,  do  we  not  greatly  gain  ? 

But  the  full  realization  of  these  words  awaits 
the  hour  when  this  corruptible  shall  put  on  in- 
corruption,  and  this  mortal  shall  put  on  immor- 
tality, at  the  sudden  appearance  of  the  Saviour  in 
His  advent  glory.  Then  shall  be  brought  to  pass 
the  saying  which  is  written.  Death  is  swallowed 
up  in  victory.  There  shall  not  a  hoof  be  left  be- 
hind. Not  one  of  the  redeemed  shall  remain  in 
the  prison-house ;  and  even  in  their  bodies,  raised 
in  the  likeness  of  Christ,  there  will  be  no  evi- 
dence of  the  triumph  of  death  or  the  grave. 
196 


/  am  like  a  green  fir-tree.  From  Me  is  thy 
fruit  found.  Hosea  xiv.  8. 

THIS  chapter  abounds  with  picturesque  nat- 
ural imagery.  The  dew  distilling  on  the  parched 
herbage,  as  the  sign  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The 
blossoming  lily,  fragile  but  beautiful,  an  emblem 
of  the  retiring  grace  and  purity  of  Christian 
character.  The  roots  of  Lebanon,  descending 
far  down  into  the  valley,  anchoring  in  its  rugged 
strength,  significant  of  the  stability  which  in  each 
Christian  should  mingle  with  grace.  The  silver 
beauty  of  the  olive,  the  cool  aromatic  breath  of 
the  wind  that  has  passed  over  the  snows  and 
slopes  of  Lebanon,  commemorating  the  beauty 
and  fragrance  of  the  influence  of  the  child  of 
God.  The  covering  shadow,  the  yellowing  corn, 
the  delicious  scent  of  the  vine,  when  it  gives  a 
good  smell,  to  denote  the  gifts  and  graces  of  holy 
living.  And  finally,  all  of  these  summed  up  in 
the  cry  of  Ephraim,  "  I  am  like  a  green  fir-tree." 
O  child  of  God,  canst  thou  appropriate  this 
wealth  of  imagery  for  thyself?  Are  the  facts 
which  these  symbols  denote  true  of  thy  life?  Be 
not  content  to  be  as  the  lily,  seek  also  to  be  as 
the  rooted  strength  of  Lebanon  ;  be  not  satisfied 
with  the  similitudes  of  beauty,  seek  also  those  of 
usefulness.  And  above  all,  be  an  evergreen, 
never  showing  signs  of  autumnal  decay. 

But,  amid  it  all,  remember  the  caution — 
"From  Me  is  thy  fruit  found."  Count  naught 
thine  own  but  sin.  Thou  hast  nothing  thou 
didst  not  receive  ;  thou  couldst  do  nothing  apart 
from  Jesus.  It  is  only  as  thou  abidest  in  Him, 
and  He  in  thee,  that  thou  canst  bring  forth  any 
fruit,  or  be  fragrant,  or  serve  any  good  purpose 
in  the  world. 

"  As  some  rare  perfume  in  a  vase  of  clay 
Pervades  it  with  a  fragrance  not  its  own, 
So,  when  Thou  dwellest  in  a  mortal  soul, 
All  heaven's  own  sweetness  seems  around  it  thrown." 

197 


Sanctify  a  fast,  call  a  solemn  assembly ,  gather 
the  elders ^  and  cry  unto  the  Lord. 

Joel  i.  14  (R.  v.,  marg.), 

IT  was  a  terrible  invasion.  The  locusts  had 
lighted  down  upon  the  land  of  Israel ;  so  that 
the  seeds  rotted  under  the  clods ;  garners  were 
desolate;  the  barns  were  broken  down.  Despair 
took  hold  of  the  husbandman  ;  and  the  herds  and 
flocks  panted  out  their  anguish.  At  this  juncture 
the  prophet  called  for  a  national  fast. 

Whenever  our  life  is  visited  by  special  trials 
and  perplexities,  we  should  withdraw  ourselves 
from  common  pursuits,  and  lay  bare  out  heart- 
secrets,  so  that  we  may  learn  the  cause  of  God's 
controversy  with  us.  There  is  a  reason  and  a 
needs-be ;  because  He  does  not  afflict  willingly, 
or  grieve  the  children  of  men. 

From  time  to  time  a  call  for  prayer  has  issued 
from  the  hearts  of  men  closest  in  touch  with 
heaven.  In  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury Jonathan  Edwards  issued  such  an  appeal; 
and  this  led  to  that  union  of  prayer,  which 
played  so  significant  a  part  in  the  origination  of 
the  great  missionary  societies.  It  was  notably 
the  effect  of  that  appeal  on  Sutcliffe,  Rylands, 
Fuller,  and  Carey,  that  led  to  the  formation  of 
the  Baptist  Missionary  Society  at  the  close  of  the 
eighteenth  century. 

It  may  be  that  a  wave  of  prayer  is  again  about 
to  break  over  the  Church.  There  are  many  signs 
of  it.  We  hear  Christian  people  saying  on  all 
hands  that  they  want  to  get  back  to  God  ;  and 
surely  it  would  be  one  of  the  most  significant 
signs  of  the  unity  of  the  Church  and  the  power 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  if  such  a  prayer  wave  were  to 
lift  us  all  on  to  a  new  level  of  intercession  for  the 
Church  of  God  and  the  world  around  us.  We 
need  not  wait  for  the  Church  to  appoint. 
198 


/  will  restore  to  you  the  years  that  the  locust 
hath  eaten.  Joel  a.  2^. 

HOW  many  years  of  our  life  have  been  con- 
sumed by  the  locust  !  Self  in  one  form  or 
another  has  sorely  robbed  us  of  our  golden 
sheaves,  reducing  them  to  dust.  Self-indulgence, 
frivolity,  wanton  spendthriftness  of  time,  and 
talent,  and  opportunity,  sloth  and  lethargy, 
mixed  and  evil  motives,  secret  sins — what  a  crew 
are  there  !  They  have  played  the  part  of  the 
caterpillar,  the  cankerworm,  and  the  palmerworm 
with  the  green  promise  and  the  yellow  produce 
of  our  lives. 

But  God  waits  to  forgive ;  to  put  away  from 
His  mind  the  memory  of  the  wasted  past ;  to  place 
the  crown  of  a  new  hope  upon  our  brow — yea, 
more,  to  restore  to  us  the  years  that  the  locust 
hath  eaten.  There  shall  be  a  revenue  of  glory  to 
Him  even  from  those  wasted  years.  Either  in 
the  experience  they  shall  have  communicated  to 
us  for  dealing  with  other  men,  or  in  the  peniten- 
tial and  broken-hearted  temper  they  shall  have 
begotten  in  ourselves ;  those  years  shall  yet  yield 
crops  of  praise  to  God,  and  of  fruitfulness  to  us. 
And,  also,  God  is  prepared  so  to  add  His  bless- 
ing to  us,  in  the  present  and  future,  as  to  give  us 
in  each  year  not  only  the  year's  produce,  but 
much  more,  so  that  each  year  will  be  laden  and 
weighted  with  the  blessing  of  three  or  four 
beside.  Where  sin  abounded,  grace  shall  much 
more  abound.  Where  we  have  sown,  we  shall 
reap ;  not  thirtyfold  only,  but  a  hundredfold. 
God  is  so  anxious  to  give  us  as  large  a  result  as 
possible  to  show  for  our  life's  work,  though  we 
may  have  sadly  wrecked  its  earlier  portions. 
Did  He  not  restore  to  Peter  at  Pentecost  what 
he  wasted  in  the  hall  of  judgment?  Did  not 
Paul  win  harvests  for  Christ  out  of  the  years 
which  preceded  his  conversion  ? 
199 


I  am  the  Lord  your  God^  dwelling  in  Zion^  My 
holy  mountain.  Joel  Hi.  ly. 

THIS  will  be  the  lot  of  the  chosen  people  in 
the  millennial  age.  The  Holy  God  will  make 
the  city  in  which  He  resides  a  Holy  place.  But 
it  is  true  universally.  Wherever  the  Holy  God 
dwells,  there  you  have  holiness — for  it  is  the  at- 
tribute of  His  nature,  as  heat  is  of  fire.  Holi- 
ness is  not  //,  but  He.  Do  you  want  //  ?  Then 
you  must  invite  Him  to  come. 

When  God  comes  into  a  day,  it  becomes  holy 
unto  Him.  When  His  presence  is  revealed  in  a 
bush,  it  is  holy  ground.  When  He  descends  on 
a  mountain,  the  fences  are  erected,  that  un- 
hallowed feet  may  not  draw  nigh.  When  He  fills 
a  building  like  Solomon's  Temple,  the  whole  is 
consecrated,  and  may  not  be  employed  for  sacri- 
legious purposes.  Best  of  all,  if  He  dwell  in 
our  hearts,  they  too  are  rendered  holy  to  Him- 
self. 

When  the  apostle  prays  that  the  God  of  Peace 
should  sanctify  us  wholly,  he  goes  on  to  ask  that 
spirit,  soul,  and  body,  should  be  as  a  temple 
filled  with  God.  The  holy  man  is  he  who  is 
God-filled  and  God-possessed.  It  is  not  enough 
to  possess  God ;  we  must  be  possessed  by  Him. 
He  who  has  more  of  God  is  surely  holier  than 
other  men  ;  and  he  is  the  holiest  who  has  most. 
Behold,  Christ  stands  at  the  door  and  knocks  : 
He  longs  to  come  in  and  abide,  never  again  to 
depart;  He  brings  with  Him  the  holiness  for 
which  He  has  taught  us  to  yearn. 

*'Is  it  true,  Ignatius,"  said  the  Roman  em- 
peror to  the  Christian  martyr,  *'that  you  carry 
about  your  God  within  you  ?  "  *'  It  is  even  so," 
replied  the  bishop,  "  for  it  is  written,  I  will  dwell 
in  thee,  and  walk  in  thee."  And  for  that  answer 
they  cast  him  to  the  wild  beasts.  But  what  they 
deemed  blasphemy  is  literally  true  of  the  Holy 
Spirit. 

200 


The  words  of  Amos,  who  was  among  the  herd- 
men  of  Tekoa.  Amos  i.  i. 

GOD  does  not  hesitate  to  employ  a  herdman,  if 
only  his  heart  is  pure  and  devoted  to  His  service. 
He  calls  such  an  one  out  at  the  midst  of  his  fel- 
lows, designating  him  for  His  sacred  ministry. 
And  when  the  fire  of  God  burns  within,  very 
common  clay  becomes  luminous  and  transparent. 
An  ox-goad,  a  ram's-horn,  a  sling  of  stone,  will 
serve  His  purpose.  It  is  not  what  a  man  has,  but 
what  he  is,  that  matters. 

As  we  look  through  this  strong  book  of  ancient 
prophecy,  and  notice  how  it  abounds  with  refer- 
ences and  imagery  peculiar  to  a  herdman's  life, 
we  feel  that  a  noble  spirit  of  devotion  to  God 
may  elevate  the  meanest  employments  and  dignify 
the  most  ordinary  subjects.  The  common  inci- 
dents of  the  farm  may  convey  the  Divine  mean- 
ing not  less  than  the  sacred  scenery  of  the  Tem- 
ple, which  was  familiar  to  Ezekiel.  There  is 
nothing  which  is  intrinsically  common  or  un- 
clean. We  profane  things  by  a  profane  spirit. 
But  if  we  view  all  things  from  the  Divine  stand- 
point, we  shall  find  that  a  sacred  light  will  beat 
through  them,  like  that  which  transfigured  the 
coarse  garments  of  Christ  so  as  no  fuller  on  earth 
could  whiten  them.  The  glory  streamed  through 
from  His  heart ! 

It  is  comparatively  seldom  that  God  calls  one 
of  the  upper  classes  of  society  to  conspicuous  use- 
fulness. **  Behold  your  calling,  brethren,  how 
that  not  many  wise  after  the  flesh,  not  many 
mighty,  not  many  noble,  are  called  ;  but  God 
chose  the  weak  things,  ...  the  base  things, 
.  .  .  and  the  things  that  are  despised."  Here 
and  there  a  noble  of  great  authority,  a  Zinzen- 
dorf,  a  Shaftesbury :  but  most  often  fishermen 
and  publicans;  Luther,  the  miner's  son,  Ters- 
teegen  the  ribbon  weaver,  Carey  the  cobbler. 
201 


Behold^  I  am  pressed  under  you,  as  a  cart  is 
pressed  that  is  full  of  sheaves.  Amos  ii.  13. 

BEHOLD  !  This  is  like  the  hand  which  oc- 
curs in  the  margins  of  old  books,  to  attract  the 
reader's  attention.  It  is  God's  special  call  to 
our  heed. 

Sin  is  very  burdensome  to  God  :  especially  the 
sins  enumerated  in  the  context.  Look  at  the 
story  of  oppression  in  the  6th  verse ;  of  licentious- 
ness in  the  7th  ;  of  ingratitude  in  the  9th ;  of 
drunkenness  in  the  12th.  These  sins  are  aggra- 
vated when  committed  by  His  own  people.  Just 
as  the  groaning  wain  creaks  and  cries  out  under 
its  load,  so  does  the  heart  of  God  under  our  sins. 
"O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem!"  Should  not  we 
feel  more  as  God  does  in  this  respect  ?  Ought 
not  we  to  bear  the  burden  of  sin,  as  Daniel  did 
for  his  land  and  people  ? 

What  a  fulfillment  these  words  had  in  the  life 
and  death  of  our  blessed  Lord  !  The  sheaves  of 
our  sins  were  laid  on  Him  :  for  the  Lord  laid  on 
Him  the  iniquity  of  us  all.  As  He  bore  His 
cross  through  the  streets  of  Jerusalem ;  as  He  lay 
crushed  to  the  ground  in  Gethsemane ;  as  He 
cried,  "  My  God,  My  God,  why  hast  Thou  for- 
saken Me  ?  " — surely  He  was  like  a  laden  wagon, 
groaning  under  an  almost  insupportable  load. 

The  R.  V.  gives  another  sense,  which  is  not  so 
true  to  the  Hebrew,  but  it  should  be  considered  : 
"  I  will  press  you,  as  a  cart  presseth"  and  cuts 
deep  ruts  in  the  road.  A  discovery  is  announced 
of  a  process  of  turning  silver  into  gold  by  a  pres- 
sure of  eighty  tons  on  a  square  inch,  and  in  very 
low  temperature.  Yes,  pressure  and  the  chilling 
effects  of  presecution,  difficulty,  and  disappoint- 
ment are  God's  methods  of  redeeming  us  from 
destruction,  and  turning  our  silver  into  gold. 
Oh,  let  us  forsake  our  sins  rather  than  compel 
Him  to  employ  such  an  ordeal ! 
202 


Can  two  walk  together y  except  they  be  agreed? 

Amos  Hi.  J. 

THIS  is  the  first  of  seven  searching  questions, 
to  each  of  which  there  is  but  one  answer — Cer- 
tainly not. 

We  are  conducted,  first,  to  the  forest y  to  the 
lion's  lair,  where  the  roaring  indicates  that  he 
has  certainly  secured  his  prey.  There  is  a  cause 
for  those  low  roars  of  satisfaction.  Then  to  the 
moorland,  where  the  bird  is  suddenly  entrapped. 
But  there  must  have  been  an  intention  to  entrap 
it  on  the  part  of  the  fowler,  else  it  had  not  fal- 
len to  his  hand.  Lastly,  to  the  city,  where  the 
panic-stricken  crowds  cower  before  some  giant 
evil,  such  as  pestilence,  and  tremble  at  the  bugle- 
note  of  alarm.  Here  also,  whether  in  the  sound- 
ing of  the  trumpet,  or  the  presence  of  the  plague, 
there  is  an  evident  reason.  Thus  sorrow,  cause- 
less, does  not  come ;  and  whenever  it  presses  on 
the  individual  or  the  State,  inquiry  should  be 
made  whether  God  has  any  controversy  with 
those  who  suffer  beneath  the  stroke. 

Often,  in  answer  to  the  inquiry,  it  will  be  dis- 
covered that  the  soul  is  not  in  agreement  with 
God  ;  but  at  some  almost  imperceptible  angle  its 
metals  have  diverged  from  the  main  track  of 
God's  wise  and  holy  procedure.  And  the  trouble 
will  remain  until  the  nation  or  the  individual 
has  come  back  into  agreement  with  God.  It  is 
worth  our  while  to  make  any  sacrifices,  if  only 
we  may  get  back  to  God's  side. 

Whether  in  marriage,  or  business,  or  journey- 
ing together,  be  very  sure  that  you  are  in  perfect 
accord  with  your  companion  before  you  start. 
What  sorrow  might  have  been  saved  in  thousands 
of  cases,  if  only  there  had  been  stricter  compari- 
son of  temperaments  and  methods  before  starting 
forth  ! 

203 


Prepare  to  meet  thy  God,  O  Israel. 

Amos  iv.  12. 

THESE  words  might  have  rung  out  in  Para- 
dise. When  the  heat  of  the  day  was  over,  the  voice 
of  the  Lord  might  have  been  heard  sounding  down 
the  leafy  avenues:  Prepare,  O  man,  to  meet  thy 
God  !  And  the  summons  must  have  filled  him 
with  ecstasy.  As  a  child  to  its  parent,  so  must 
those  two  innocent  and  happy  beings  have  sped 
to  their  Creator. 

We,  too,  hear  the  summons.  Each  morning, 
when  we  stand  ready  for  the  duties  of  the  day, 
we  hear  the  voice.  Prepare  to  meet  Me.  Each 
Lord's  Day  we  wake  with  this  same  summons  in 
our  heart,  and  prepare  ourselves  to  meet  our  God. 
Each  illness,  each  fluttering  of  the  canvas  of  our 
mortality,  each  premonition  of  our  end,  takes  up 
the  same  appeal.  Prepare  to  meet  God.  And  as 
we  hear  the  words,  we  have  no  dread,  no  fear. 
Clothed  in  Christ's  perfect  righteousness,  arrayed 
in  His  beauty,  we  know  that  we  are  accepted ; 
that  the  love  wherewith  the  Father  loves  the  Son 
is  waiting  to  greet  us. 

But  there  should  be  a  preparedness  of  heart. 
We  should  not  rush  heedlessly  into  His  presence. 
We  should  stimulate  our  hearts  by  thoughts  like 
those  suggested  in  the  following  verse.  Stop  and 
remember  how  great  God  is:  He  formed  the 
mountains.  How  subtle  His  power:  He  made 
the  viewless  wind,  and  the  Spirit  of  which  it  is 
the  emblem.  How  omniscient  His  knowledge : 
He  can  declare  unto  man  His  inmost  thought. 
How  absolute  His  authority :  the  brightest  morn- 
ing will  darken,  or  the  darkest  night  brighten,  as 
He  bids.  How  vast  the  circuit  of  His  providence, 
who  steps  from  Alpine  peak  to  peak.  Let  me 
not  rush  into  His  presence :  He  is  my  Father. 
But  He  is  the  Lord,  the  God  of  hosts :  I  must 
order  my  thoughts,  and  prepare  to  meet  Him. 
204 


Seek  Him  that  maketh  the  Pleiades  and  Orion. 

Amos  V.  8  (R.  v.). 

THIS  chapter  resounds  with  invitations  to  seek 
God.  He  makes  the  F/eiades,  which  usher  in 
the  sprifig :  seek  Him  when  life  is  full  of  radiant 
hope  and  promise,  in  days  of  love  and  joy.  But 
He  also  makes  Orion,  the  precursor  of  tempests ; 
be  sure,  therefore,  to  seek  Him  when  the  sky  is 
overcast  and  lowering,  and  when  He  presses  you 
to  enter  the  boat  and  face  the  storm. 

He  turns  the  shadow  of  death  i?ito  the  morning. 
Thank  God  for  this.  There  is  a  turning  of  death- 
shadow  into  morning,  when  despair  gives  place  to 
hope :  when  the  dear  one  begins  to  revive  from 
sore  sickness;  when  circumstances  begin  to 
brighten  ;  and  when  the  perplexity  and  darkness 
of  this  mortal  life,  with  its  separations  and  misun- 
derstandings, shall  brighten  with  the  eternal  day. 
Weave  thoughts  of  God  into  all  these  glad  ex- 
periences ;  but  not  less  so,  when  He  makes  the 
day  dark  with  night.  It  may  be  that  you  will 
come  closest  to  Him  then  ;  as  the  little  child  will 
sit  on  the  far  side  of  the  railway  carriage  from 
her  mother  till  they  enter  a  tunnel,  and  then 
there  will  be  a  little  startled  cry  and  a  rush  to  the 
mother's  knee. 

Sometimes  the  waters  of  the  sea  pour  in  on  the 
land,  engulfing  the  works  of  men,  and  devastating 
their  toils.  But  amid  all  such  scenes  of  desola- 
tion, the  righteous  have  a  secure  hiding-place, 
suggested  by  the  reference  to  the  name  Jehovah, 
with  which  this  verse  closes.  "  The  name  of  the 
Lord  is  a  strong  tower;  the  righteous  runneth 
unto  it,  and  is  safe." 

"  Earth  changes,  but  thy  soul  and  God  stand  sure ; 
What  entered  into  thee, 
That  was,  is,  and  shall  be; 
Time's  wheel  runs  back  or  stops — Potter  and  clay  en- 
dure." 

205 


Woe  to  them  that  are  at  ease  in  Zion  / 

Amos  vi.  I. 

A  PICTURE  is  given  in  the  following  chapters 
of  the  luxury  and  self-indulgence  of  the  people. 
Stretched  on  couches  inlaid  with  ivory,  choosing 
the  rarest  dainties,  accompanying  their  voices  on 
the  lute,  and  drinking  wine  from  flowing  bowls, 
they  were  indifferent  to  the  wounds  from  which 
the  national  lifeblood  was  pouring.  *'They 
were  not  grieved  for  the  affliction  of  Joseph" 
(ver.  6). 

The  same  behavior  is  only  too  common 
amongst  ourselves.  Indeed,  this  temptation  be- 
sets us  all.  If  only  we  are  well  supplied  with  the 
comforts  and  luxuries  of  life,  we  are  apt  to  be- 
come thoughtless  of  the  miseries  of  poverty  and 
misfortune.  If  our  own  heaven  is  secure,  we  are 
apt  to  enwrap  ourselves  with  an  atmosphere  of 
satisfaction  and  composure,  without  taking  suffi- 
ciently to  heart  the  needs  of  the  great  world  of 
sin  and  sorrow  around. 

*'  The  affliction  of  Joseph  "  reminds  us  of  the 
scene  at  the  pit's  mouth  :  how  Joseph's  brethren 
sat  down  to  eat  bread,  whilst  their  brother  was  in 
the  pit  without  water,  and  then  sold  him  to  the 
travelling  merchantmen,  to  rid  their  sight  of  him. 
But  human  nature  is  prone  to  act  thus  in  every 
age. 

Are  we  at  ease  in  Zion?  Are  we  using  for 
our  own  luxurious  enjoyment  gifts  which  God 
entrusted  to  our  care  for  the  world  ?  Are  we  too 
indifferent  to  the  fate  of  those  who  live  in  our 
homes,  or  pour  in  great  streams  of  activity  along 
our  streets?  Are  we  sleeping  in  the  garden, 
whilst  our  Master  sweats  the  bloody  sweat  ?  We 
have  but  one  life  to  spend ;  let  it  be  a  life  in 
earnest.  Let  us  bethink  ourselves  of  any  whom 
we  can  help — any  who  are  in  affliction,  the  poor 
widow,  the  young  wife  with  the  sick  husband, 
the  student  who  is  so  eager  to  become  a  minister. 
306 


The  latter  growth  after  the  kmg^s  mowings. 

A/nos  vii.  I. 

OUR  King  has  often  to  mow  the  grass  of  the 
inner  life — the  daisies  and  buttercups  of  experi- 
ence of  which  we  are  so  proud,  the  tall  stalks,  the 
flowering  grasses.  Were  He  to  leave  them,  the 
entire  growth  would  become  altogether  too 
coarse  and  rank  for  use.  The  lawn  on  which 
He  loves  to  walk,  with  its  velvet  pile  of  grass, 
would  become  coarse  and  rough. 

Mowing  implies  death.  All  the  pretty  flowers 
and  myriads  of  blades  lie  in  long  swathes  of 
death,  presently  to  be  carried  away  to  the  rub- 
bish heap.  From  myriads  of  dying  flowers  the 
last  expiring  sigh  is  being  breathed  out  on  the 
soft  spring  breeze.  We  must  be  prepared  to  die 
to  our  complacent  self-content;  to  our  blissful 
frames  and  feelings ;  to  our  complaints  and  con- 
solations— if  any  of  them  come  between  us  and 
our  King. 

But  after  the  King's  mowings  there  is  the  after- 
math. It  is  said  that  the  tenderest,  juiciest  shoots 
appear  on  lawns  which  are  repeatedly  mown. 
This  is  what  the  young  lambs  love,  if  they  may 
taste  it.  And  surely  there  is  no  such  piety  as 
that  which  follows  on  the  repeated  application  of 
God's  scythe.  When  repeated  strokes  have 
robbed  us  of  health,  friends,  money,  and  favorable 
circumstances ;  then  we  put  forth  our  tenderest 
shoots  of  love,  and  prayer,  and  consecration. 
Oh,  do  not  be  afraid  of  the  scythe  !  The  King 
loves  thee  too  well  to  hurt  thee.  Be  of  good 
heart ;  thou  shalt  yet  bear  an  aftermath  ! 

"What  do  you  think  of  your  God  now?" 
asked  a  well-known  sceptic  of  Silwood  of  Kes- 
wick, who  for  twenty  years  suffered  agonies. 
"Since  He  is  able  to  keep  me  in  perfect  peace," 
was  the  reply,  "amid  sufferings  like  mine,  I 
think  of  Him  more  than  ever."  Here  was  after- 
math indeed ! 

207 


/  will  send  a  famine  in  the  land^  .  .   .  of  hear- 
ing the  words  of  the  Lord.  Amos  viii.  ii. 

ISRAEL  will  not  listen  to  God's  prophets,  and 
their  voices  would  be  silenced.  This  was  a  just 
retribution.  As  they  were  not  willing  to  have 
the  word  of  God,  so  there  should  be  a  famine  of 
that  word.  The  word  of  God  was  precious  in 
the  days  of  Samuel,  because  there  was  no  open 
vision  ;  so  should  it  be  again.  And  perhaps  this 
privation  will  one  day  be  meted  out  to  our  be- 
loved country.  There  is  a  much  larger  propor- 
tion of  our  population  outside  than  inside  our 
churches ;  and  men  proudly  eschew  God's  Word. 
It  may  be  that  the  message  of  the  Gospel  will  al- 
most cease  from  among  them,  and  be  replaced — 
as  in  so  many  instances  is  now  the  case — by  the  dry 
husks  of  morality  and  ceremonialism.  Then  they 
shall  run  to  and  fro  to  seek  the  word  of  the  Lord, 
and  shall  not  find  it. 

We  may  question  ourselves,  whether  we  feed 
enough  on  God's  Word.  If  we  would  grow 
strong,  we  must  feed,  not  on  condiments  and 
sweetmeats,  not  on  tit-bits  and  scraps,  not  on 
versicles  and  pious  sentences ;  but  on  the  strong 
meat  of  the  Word,  on  the  doctrines,  histories, 
types  of  Scripture.  Oh  for  more  hunger  and  thirst 
for  these  !  Would  you  have  it  so  ?  No  child  will 
enjoy  its  meals  who  is  constantly  being  surfeited 
with  sweets  between  times.  Beware  lest  you  cloy 
your  appetite  with  the  painted  sweetmeats  of  the 
world. 

It  is  worth  notice,  that  if  men  have  not  God, 
they  will  find  some  substitute.  They  will  swear 
by  the  sin  of  Samaria,  and  say,  Thy  God,  O 
Dan;  thy  manner,  O  Beersheba.  This  is  why 
palmistry,  spiritualism,  so-called  Christian 
science,  are  just  now  so  much  in  vogue.  Man's 
nature  is  made  for  God,  and  hungers  for  a  sub- 
stitute. 

208 


Jn  that  day  will  I  raise  up  the  tabernacle  of 
David  that  is  fallen.  Amos  ix.  ii,  12. 

THESE  verses  were  quoted  by  the  grave,  white- 
vestured  James  in  that  memorable  gathering  of 
the  Church  to  consider  the  admission  of  the  Gen- 
tiles on  equal  terms  with  Jews  (Acts.  xv.).  It  is 
well  worth  noticing  the  special  turn  which  the 
Lord's  brother  gave  to  the  closing  words  of  the 
quotation.  He  reads  into  it  the  deeper  meaning 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  quickening  and  blessing 
of  the  chosen  people  has  always  meant  the  bless- 
ing of  the  world. 

It  was  so,  as  James  says,  at  Pentecost.  The 
blessing  which  descended  on  the  hill  of  Zion 
passed  to  all  lands.  They  went  everywhere 
preaching  the  Gospel,  until  some  began  to  utter 
it  also  to  the  men  of  Antioch,  and  great  numbers 
streamed  into  the  Church  (Acts  xi.) ;  and  thence 
the  widening  circles  broadened  out,  until  Eph- 
esus,  Athens,  Rome,  and  distant  Spain  and  Brit- 
ain were  included. 

So  will  it  be  when  the  end  of  the  present  age 
has  been  reached.  We,  the  Church,  shall  sit 
with  Christ  in  the  heavenlies,  occupying  the 
place  now  held  by  the  devil  and  his  demons, 
who  will  no  longer  be  the  prince  of  the  power  of 
the  air ;  but  the  Jews,  using  that  term  in  its  strict 
sense,  having  been  brought  to  God,  shall  be  the 
evangelists  and  apostles  of  the  world.  Then  the 
residue  of  the  Gentiles  shall  seek  unto  the  Lord. 
Ponder,  specially,  the  promises  of  13th,  14th, 
and  15th  verses;  and  compare  them  with  Rom. 
xi.  15,  24,  26. 

May  we  not  appropriate  them  in  a  spiritual 
sense,  and  ask  that  the  days  may  hasten  when 
the  crops  shall  have  no  sooner  fallen  before  the 
sickle,  than  the  plowmen  shall  run  their  shares 
through  the  clods ;  and  the  vintage  shall  follow 
close  on  the  harvest ;  and  men  shall  be  prepared 
and  eager  before  we  begin  to  speak  ! 
209 


The  house  of  Jacob  shall  possess  their  posses- 
sions. Obadiah  ly. 

AS  long  as  Edom  invaded  and  annoyed  the 
house  of  Jacob,  the  people  were  unable  to  possess 
their  possessions  in  peace.  No  sooner  did  the 
harvest  or  vintage  appear,  than  their  hereditary 
foes  swooped  down  to  carry  off  the  fruits  of  their 
toils.  But  Edom's  dominion  was  to  be  ended ; 
and  then  there  would  be  no  cloud  in  the  sky,  no 
barrier  to  their  uninterrupted  joy. 

There  are  many  instances  of  people  not  pos- 
sessing their  possessions.  Such  are  those  who 
put  their  plate  and  valuables  into  furniture  de- 
positories, and  for  years  leave  them  to  neglect ; 
who  have  shelves  of  unread,  uncut  books  ;  who 
do  not  realize  that  coal  and  iron  mines  lie  under 
their  estates ;  who  never  enjoy  the  wealth  of  love 
and  tenderness  in  their  friends'  hearts ;  who  re- 
fuse to  avail  themselves  of  resources  which  are 
well  within  their  reach. 

But  too  many  of  God's  people  are  like  this. 
The  Father  has  caused  all  His  fullness  to  reside  in 
the  nature  of  Jesus;  He  hath  given  us  all  things 
that  pertain  unto  life  and  godliness  in  Him ;  He 
hath  blessed  us  with  all  spiritual  blessings  in 
Christ  Jesus ;  in  our  Saviour  are  treasures  of 
wisdom,  of  purity,  of  prevailing  power,  of  love 
and  patience.  The  Divine  Merchantman  has 
come  to  us  to  give  us  gold  tried  in  the  fire,  white 
raiment,  and  eyesalve.  But  we  go  blundering  on 
in  our  own  selfish,  sinful,  faltering  way.  We  do 
not  possess  our  possessions.  We  do  not  call  into 
practical  use  the  boundless  reinforcements  await- 
ing us,  at  every  hour,  within  the  tiniest  beckon- 
ing of  our  faith.  We  are  like  the  manufacturer 
who  refuses  to  use  the  steam-power,  though  it 
is  laid  on  into  the  mill;  or  the  householder 
who  refuses  to  touch  the  button  of  the  electric 
light. 

210 


Jonah  rose  up  to  flee  unto  Tarshish  from  the 
presence  of  the  Lord.  Jonah  i.  j. 

HE  went  down  to  Joppa. — Sin  is  always  a  go- 
ing down.  Down  from  the  heights  of  fellowship 
with  God ;  down  from  the  life  of  high  and  noble 
purpose;  down  from  self-restraint  and  high  en- 
deavor. Yes,  and  we  know  we  are  going  down ; 
that  our  self-discipline  is  relaxed ;  that  our  holy 
separation  from  the  world  is  slacker. 

He  found  a  ship. — Opportunity  does  not  neces- 
sarily indicate  either  expediency  or  duty.  Be- 
cause the  ship  happened  at  that  moment  to  be 
weighing  anchor  and  the  sails  to  be  filled  with  a 
favoring  breeze,  Jonah  might  have  argued  that 
his  resolution  was  a  right  one.  Whether  he  did 
or  not,  there  are  many  times  in  our  lives  when  we 
are  disposed  to  argue  that  favoring  circumstances 
indicate  the  right  course.  But  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  they  never  can  belie  God's  summons 
to  the  soul  to  do  His  will.  The  court  of  con- 
science is  the  supreme  court  of  appeal ;  and  to 
run  away  from  known  duty  cannot  be  right, 
though  circumstances  seem  at  first  to  smile. 

He  paid  the  fare  thereof. — Yes,  if  we  go  op- 
posite to  God's  will,  we  always  have  to  pay  for 
it.  The  loss  of  self-respect,  the  broken  piece  of 
conscience,  the  deprivation  of  God's  blessed  pres- 
ence, are  part  of  the  fare.  And  even  when  we 
have  paid  and  lost  it  all,  we  fail  to  get  what  we 
purchased ;  we  are  dropped  out  of  our  chosen 
vessel  in  mid-ocean  ;  and  God  brings  us  back  to 
land  at  His  own  expense,  and  in  a  ship  of  His 
own  construction.  The  morning  may  be  fine, 
but  it  is  soon  overcast :  the  sky  may  be  clear  at 
starting,  but  God  sends  a  great  storm  after  the 
runaways  to  bring  them  back  to  Himself:  the 
ship  may  seem  to  be  opportunely  leaving  the 
wharf,  but  disaster  will  overtake  it. 
211 


/  am  cast  out  from  before  Thine  eyes  ;  yet  I  will 
look  again  toward  Thy  holy  temple. 

Jonah  ii.  4  (r.  v.). 

THAT  is  well,  O  truant  soul.  Look  again  / 
from  where  thou  art.  Thou  art  in  the  heart  of 
the  seas;  the  flood  of  sorrow  enwraps  thee ;  storms 
of  trouble  are  sweeping  over  thee — but  look  again 
toward  His  holy  temple.  All  that  sorrow  has  been 
sent  to  bring  thee  back  from  thy  wanderings,  and 
cause  thee  to  look  again.  Thou  couldest  not  look 
so  long  as  thy  back  was  toward  the  will  of  God, 
and  thy  face  toward  Tarshish ;  but  now  thou  art 
turned  again,  and  art  on  thy  way  back,  thou 
mayest  look  again  in  the  direction  of  the  altar 
and  its  sacrifice,  the  High  Priest  and  His  media- 
tion. Look  again.  Look  off  unto  Jesus,  the 
Author  and  Finisher  of  Faith.  Do  not  wait  till 
thou  hast  come  into  a  better  vantage-point  for 
vision,  but  look  again  from  thy  position  in  the 
lowest  depths. 

Look  again  f  God  invites  thee,  too.  Though 
thou  hast  turned  thy  back  on  Him  these  many 
years,  He  waits  to  be  gracious;  His  face  is 
wreathed  in  tenderest,  yearning  love.  One  look 
the  least,  the  most  abashed,  from  the  greatest 
distance,  will  be  eagerly  noticed  and  instantly 
reciprocated.  **  They  looked  unto  Him  and  were 
lightened  " — so  wilt  thou  be.  And  He  will  bring 
up  thy  life  from  the  pit.  Does  thy  soul  faint 
within  thee? — then  remember  the  Lord.  Let 
there  be  but  one  yearning  desire  for  Him,  and  it 
will  come  in  unto  Him  as  a  prayer  to  His  holy 
temple. 

Look  again  f  in  spite  of  the  remonstrances  of 
thine  heart.  "  I  said."  The  heart  is  always  say- 
ing :  I  am  too  vile ;  I  have  sinned  too  deeply;  I 
have  gone  too  far ;  I  have  so  often  fallen  and  re- 
turned, I  am  ashamed  to  come  again :  besides, 
are  there  not  texts  about  never  forgiveness,  and 
impossible  to  renew  to  repentance  ?  I  said :  Yet, 
look  again ! 

212 


The  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  Jonah  the  second 
time.  Jonah  in.  i. 

WE  must  not  presume  on  this,  but  we  may 
take  it  to  our  hearts  for  their  very  great  comfort. 
God's  word  may  come  to  us  ''  the  second  time." 
Jonah  evaded  it  the  first  time ;  but  he  was  per- 
mitted to  have  a  second  opportunity  of  obeying 
it.  Thus  it  was  with  Peter ;  he  failed  to  realize 
the  Lord's  ideal  in  the  first  great  trial  of  his  apos- 
tolic career,  but  the  Lord  met  him  on  the  shores 
of  the  lake,  and  His  word  came  to  him  a  second 
time. 

God  is  not  waiting  to  notice  our  first  failure  and 
thrust  us  from  His  service.  He  waits,  with  eager 
desire,  to  give  us  the  joy  and  honor  of  being  fel- 
low laborers  with  Himself.  He  waits  to  be  gra- 
cious. Therefore,  when  in  our  madness,  we  re- 
fuse to  do  His  bidding,  and  rush  off  in  another 
direction,  He  brings  us  back,  amid  bitter  expe- 
riences, and  says,  '*  Go  again  to  Nineveh  with  the 
message  that  I  gave  thee  originally." 

How  many  times  He  will  do  this  I  do  not  dare 
to  say.  He  forgives  indefinitely,  unto  seventy 
times  seven ;  but  how  often  He  will  reentrust 
the  sacred  message  and  mission,  it  is  not  for  me 
to  say.  But  there  is,  without  doubt,  a  limit  be- 
yond which  He  cannot  go,  lest  our  own  character 
suffer,  and  the  interests  of  other  souls,  who  may 
be  dissuaded  from  obedience  by  our  example, 
should  be  imperilled. 

How  wonderful  it  is  that  God  should  employ 
us  at  all  !  Yet  it  is  like  His  work  in  nature.  He 
is  ever  calling  men  to  cooperate  with  Himself. 
He  lays  the  coal  up  in  mines,  but  man  must  ex- 
cavate :  He  puts  the  flowers  in  the  wilds,  but 
man  cultivates  them :  He  gives  the  water,  but 
man  irrigates  the  fields.  So  He  longs  over 
Nineveh,  but  summons  sinful  men  to  carry  His 
word. 

213 


The  Lord  prepared. 

Jonah  iv.  6,  7,  8. 

THIS  book  is  full  of  this  word  prepared.  We 
are  told  that  the  Lord  prepared  a  great  fish,  a 
gourd,  a  worm,  and  a  sultry  east  wind. 

He  prepares  the  fish  (chap.  i.  17). — When 
we  are  at  our  wits'  end,  apparently  going  to  de- 
struction, He  interposes  and  arrests  our  progress, 
and  brings  us  back  again  to  Himself. 

He  prepares  the  gourd,  that  it  may  come  up  to 
be  a  shadow  to  our  heads,  and  deliver  us  from 
our  evil  case.  The  gourd  of  friendship,  of  prop- 
erty, of  some  cherished  and  successful  achieve- 
ment. Ah,  how  glad  we  are  for  these  gourds ; 
though  not  always  sufficiently  quick  to  attribute 
them  to  the  loving  providence  of  our  Heavenly 
Father. 

He  prepares  the  worm,  and  the  east  wind. — 
Jonah  would  have  regarded  Nineveh's  destruction 
with  equanimity,  whilst  he  mourned  over  his 
gourd ;  and  there  was  no  way  of  awakening  him 
to  the  true  state  of  the  case  than  by  letting  worm 
and  east  wind  do  their  work.  He  must  be  taught 
that  what  the  gourd  was  to  himself,  Nineveh  was 
to  God.  Yea,  it  was  more ;  because  God  had 
labored  for  it,  and  made  it  to  grow  through  long 
centuries  (ver.  11). 

How  often  our  gourds  are  allowed  to  perish,  to 
teach  us  these  deep  lessons.  In  spite  of  all  we 
can  do  to  keep  them  green,  their  leaves  turn  more 
and  more  sere  and  yellow,  until  they  droop  and 
die.  And  when  they  lie  prone  in  the  dust,  the 
east  wind  is  let  forth  from  the  Almighty  hand — 
the  malign  breath  from  which  the  gourd  would 
have  delivered  us.  O  child  of  God,  fainting  in 
the  east  wind,  do  not  ask  to  die;  but  get  thee  to 
the  blue  misty  shadow  of  the  great  Rock  in  a 
weary  land ;  to  the  Man  who  is  a  shadow  from 
the  heat. 

214 


The  mountains  shall  be  molten  under  Him,  and 
the  valleys  shall  be  cleft.  Micah  i.  4. 

WE  must  stay  to  admire  the  sublimity  of  these 
words.  Of  course,  it  is  a  very  human  way  of  de- 
scribing the  movements  of  the  Eternal :  but  how 
forcibly  the  prophet's  words  suggest  the  interest 
of  God  in  human  life.  He  comes  out  of  His 
place  to  deliver  His  own,  and  to  judge  the  un- 
godly :  to  remove  obstacles  to  the  fulfillment  of 
His  purposes. 

Are  you  looking  out  to-day  on  a  range  of 
mountains  that  block  your  passage  and  screen  off 
the  rays  of  the  sun  ?  Do  your  difficulties  seem 
to  have  accumulated  till  they  act  as  insuperable 
obstacles  to  the  fulfillment  of  your  most  cherished 
purposes?  Perhaps,  divided  from  your  friends ; 
hemmed  and  blocked  in  from  the  fair  sunny  lands 
of  the  vineyard  and  the  goldening  corn  ;  despair- 
ing of  tunnelling  or  scaling  the  Himalaya  and  the 
Alps.  It  is  a  sad  and  drear  prospect,  enough  to 
daunt  the  most  courageous  spirit,  and  break  down 
the  most  heroic  courage.  But  look  again  at  this 
text. 

*' Behold,  the  Lord  cometh  forth  out  of  His 
place.  He  steps  forth  from  His  pavilion,  intent 
on  some  great  and  glorious  project.  He  treads 
on  thy  high  mountains  as  on  the  furrows  of  a 
ploughed  field.  They  are  nothing  to  Him.  Be- 
neath His  tread  the  mountains  melt,  and  the  val- 
leys cleave.  Wax  melting  before  the  fire  is  the 
simple  but  sublime  image  of  the  instant  subsi- 
dence of  whole  ranges  of  difficulty.  Wilt  thou 
not  walk  with  Him  ?  Dare  to  believe  that  He 
can  make  His  mountains  a  way.  Who  art  thou, 
great  mountain  before  Zerubbabel  ?  Thou  shalt 
become  a  plain. 

"  For  whom  the  heart  of  man  shuts  out, 
Sometimes  the  heart  of  God  shuts  in; 
And  fences  them  all  round  about 

With  silence  'mid  the  world's  loud  din." 
215 


The  breaker  is  gone  up  before  them. 

Micah  it.  ij  (r.v.). 

THE  mind  of  the  prophet  conceives  of  the  peo- 
ple as  captives  in  a  foreign  city,  surrounded  by 
lofty  walls  and  frowning  gates.  Like  impassable 
barriers,  these  lie  between  them  and  liberty. 
There  seems  no  hope  of  their  being  able  to  break 
forth ;  but  all  suddenly  a  Breaker  appears,  who, 
summoning  them  to  follow,  breaks  through  the 
opposition  of  armed  men  and  of  mighty  bul- 
warks. With  resistless  might.  He  breaks  His 
way  through ;  and  they  that  follow  Him  are  de- 
scribed as  having  broken  forth,  and  passed  on  to 
the  gate,  and  gone  out  thereat.  First  the  Lord, 
then  their  king,  and  then  hosts  of  men. 

No  finer  description  could  be  imagined  of  the 
resurrection,  which  we  celebrate  as  the  first  day 
of  every  week  recurs.  Looking  forth  from  heaven 
at  the  mystery  of  the  resurrection,  when  the  tri- 
umphant Lord  stepped  forth  from  the  restraint  of 
watch,  and  ward,  and  stone,  and  demon  hate, 
and  the  grim  fortress  of  the  grave,  the  angels 
might  fitly  have  appropriated  these  words,  *'The 
Breaker  is  gone  up"  before  His  redeemed  ones. 
See  !  they  too  are  breaking  forth,  and  passing  on 
through  the  gate — their  King  passing  on  before 
them. 

This  is  also  true  of  every  new  era  of  time  and 
novelty  of  circumstance.  Circumstances,  like 
prison  walls,  may  confine  us ;  but  our  Breaker  is 
always  preceding  us,  breaking  down  opposition 
and  strong  ramparts  of  apparently  impassable 
difficulty;  breaking  down  the  suspicion  and  ha- 
tred of  men  ;  breaking  down  the  mailed  force  of 
hell.  Keep  close  beside  Him,  as  the  armor- 
bearer  behind  Jonathan.  Let  there  be  no  per- 
ceptible interspace.  The  iron  gate  of  the  city 
will  open  of  its  own  accord,  through  which  you 
shall  pass  into  perfect  liberty. 
216 


/  truly  am  full  of  power  by  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord.  Micah  in.  8. 

NOTHING  needs  more  of  the  Spirit  of  God 
than  the  preaching  which  declares  to  men  their 
sins.  No  one  is  so  thoroughly  hated  as  the  can- 
did friend.  Just  because  conscience  attests  the 
truth  of  our  utterances,  the  soul  of  the  sinner  re- 
sents our  plain  speaking.  You  may  condemn 
sin  generally  as  much  as  you  like;  but  when 
your  hand  comes  near  the  broken  bone,  or  the 
diseased  flesh,  then  there  is  at  once  a  violent  out- 
cry. Nothing  is  more  needed  in  the  present  day 
than  particular  preaching,  the  careful  analysis  of 
motive,  the  discrimination  of  shades  of  wrong- 
doing; but  the  ministry  of  John  the  Baptist  is 
only  possible  to  those  who  come  in  the  spirit  and 
power  of  Elijah. 

We  need  power  like  that  with  which  the 
apostles  gave  witness  to  Jesus  Christ.  And  it  is 
not  difficult  to  discern  when  a  man  is  dealing 
with  sin  in  the  power  of  the  eternal  God.  We- 
need  Judgment  to  detect  graver  and  lighter  of- 
fences, and  trace  the  connection  between  sin  and 
its  consequence.  We  need  might  to  withstand 
the  opposition  we  shall  inevitably  meet. 

But  all  these  may  be  had  with  the  filling  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  which  is  the  privilege  and  right  of 
every  child  of  God  in  this  the  age  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  Our  ascended  Lord  received  of  the 
Father  the  fullness  of  the  Spirit,  that  He  might 
communicate  Him  to  all  who  believe  ;  but  we,  in 
our  turn,  must  receive.  Do  not  be  content  with 
a  few  drops  at  the  bottom  of  the  bucket ;  ask  to 
stand  always  beneath  the  flowing  spring  and  be 
filled.  The  disciples  were  filled  suddenly  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost ;  but  they  were  being  filled 
perpetually  (Acts  xiii.  52,  Gr.).  The  fullness 
of  God  for  you  is  only  limited  by  your  capacity 
to  receive. 

217 


In  the  latter  days  it  shall  come  to  pass. 

Micah  iv.  j  (r.  v.). 

THESE  words  are  repeated  in  Isa.  ii.  2-4. 
The  holy  men  that  wrote  the  Bible  lived  upon 
the  inspired  words  of  their  predecessors.  Amid 
the  dark  night  this  promise  of  God  shone  like 
binary  stars. 

No  doubt  they  have  been  fulfilled  in  the  Gos- 
pel dispensation.  In  a  deep  and  true  sense  it 
has  come  to  pass  that  the  Lord's  house  has  been 
established  in  the  top  of  the  mountains,  and  has 
been  exalted  above  the  hills.  The  Church  is  a 
conspicuous  and  influential  object  among  the 
forces  of  the  world ;  and  peoples  are  flowing  to- 
ward it.  In  very  many  cases  whole  nations  have 
flung  away  the  religion  of  their  ancestors,  and 
gathered  within  that  Christian  temple  which  has 
been  built  upon  the  foundations  of  Judaism. 
Out  of  Zion  there  has  gone  forth  the  law ;  and 
from  Jerusalem  the  Word  of  the  Lord.  In 
Jesus,  the  Jew  is  still  the  centre  of  the  world's 
vision. 

But  the  full  accomplishment  of  these  words 
waits  behind  the  curtain  that  is  so  soon  to  be 
rent  at  the  coming  of  our  Lord.  Then  holy  in- 
fluences will  proceed  from  the  chosen  people  who 
shall  have  been  led  to  recognize  Christ  as  their 
Messiah.  From  these  the  Gospel  shall  go  forth 
unto  all  the  world.  Beneath  the  hallowing  in- 
fluences of  that  age  swords  shall  be  beaten  into 
ploughshares,  and  spears  into  pruning  hooks;  the 
cannon  shall  be  as  obsolete  as  the  tomahawk ;  the 
explosives  of  war  shall  be  stored  in  museums; 
whilst  schools  for  training  the  art  of  war  shall  be 
used  as  missionary  seminaries. 

There  shall  be  no  war,  because  there  shall  be 
no  fear.     '*  None  shall  make  them  afraid."     And 
there  shall  be  no   fear,   because  universal  love 
shall  reign  toward  God  and  man. 
213 


And  this  Man  shall  be  our  Peace. 

Micah  V.  4,  S  {^-  v.). 

HE  that  comes  from  Bethlehem  Ephratah, 
leaving  a  trail  of  light  that  conducts  the  eyes  of 
all  generations  back  to  the  little  village,  "the 
least  amongst  the  thousands  of  Judah,"  is  the 
Everlasting  Jehovah,  whose  goings  forth  have 
been  from  of  old. 

What  majesty  is  His  !  He  shall  stand  amid  the 
swirling  waves  of  change,  the  shifting  quicksands 
of  time,  and  the  drifting  cloudwrack  of  revolu- 
tion ;  erect,  unchangeable,  unmovable.  And  not 
He  alone,  but  His  flock  which  has  gathered 
around  Him  out  of  the  windy  storm  and  tempest. 
No  common  majesty  mantles  that  gentle  form ;  it 
is  tlie  majesty  of  the  Name  of  Jehovah,  the  glory 
that  He  had  with  the  Father  before  the  worlds 
were. 

What  tenderness  is  His  !  He  feeds  His  flock 
like  a  shepherd,  and  gathers  the  lambs  in  His 
arm.  Though  He  is  great  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth.  He  is  the  Prince  of  Peace.  He  makes 
peace ;  does  His  work  calmly  and  tenderly ;  lays 
the  foundations  of  peace  by  yielding  His  life  to 
the  death  of  the  Cross  without  resistance  or  com- 
plaint. 

What  strength  is  His  !  Strong  with  the  orig- 
inal strength  of  Deity,  with  the  acquired  strength 
of  perfect  obedience,  with  the  strength  that  ac- 
crues from  the  successful  prevalence  over  His  foes. 
His  strength  is  ours,  because  He  loves  us  per- 
fectly ;  and  it  is  the  boast  of  the  strong  to  bear  the 
infirmities  of  the  weak,  and  not  to  seek  its  own. 

A7id  this  Man  is  our  Peace. — He  came  and 
preached  Peace  to  them  that  were  far  off,  and 
Peace  to  them  that  were  nigh.  He  has  made 
Peace  by  the  Blood  of  His  Cross.  He  is  the 
Prince  of  Peace  to  loyal  and  loving  hearts.  He 
sheds  abroad  in  our  hearts  His  own  Peace,  which 
the  world  cannot  take  away. 
210 


Do  justly  i  love  mercy ^  and  walk  humbly  ivith  thy 
God  ?  Micah  vi.  8. 

THE  perfunctory  sacrifices  of  lambs  and  rams, 
rivers  of  oil,  and  of  tender  children,  were  eagerly 
practiced  by  the  surrounding  nations,  such  as  the 
Moabites,  but  were  abhorrent  to  God.  What  to 
Him  is  the  outward  rite  without  the  holy  pur- 
pose ;  the  child's  form  of  obeisance,  apart  from 
filial  love  !  Grave  questionings  as  to  the  utility 
of  mere  ritualism  suggested  themselves  in  the 
old-world  religions.  It  appears  that  the  ques- 
tions of  this  chapter  were  put  by  Balaam ;  and 
the  words  before  us  were  uttered  by  the  Divine 
Spirit  to  his  heart.  But  however  that  may  be, 
it  is  matter  for  our  adoring  gratitude  that  God 
has  stepped  out  of  the  infinite  to  show  us  what  is 
good,  and  what  He  requires. 

To  do  justly  is  to  preserve  the  balance  of  strict 
equity :  if  an  employer,  treating  work-people 
with  perfect  justice;  if  a  manufacturer  or  sales- 
man, making  and  selling  what  will  thoroughly 
satisfy  the  just  requirements  of  the  purchaser  ;  if 
an  employee,  giving  an  exact  equivalent  of  time 
and  diligence  and  conscientious  labor  for  money 
received. 

To  love  mercy  is  to  take  into  consideration  all 
those  drawbacks  which  misfortunes,  which  en- 
feebled health,  or  crushing  sorrow  may  impose 
on  those  who  owe  us  service  or  money,  or  in 
some  other  way  are  dependent  upon  us. 

To  walk  humbly  with  God  implies  constant 
prayer  and  watchfulness,  familiar  yet  humble 
converse,  conscientious  solicitude,  to  allow  noth- 
ing to  divert  us  from  His  side  or  to  break  the 
holy  chain  of  conversation.  We  must  exchange 
our  monologue,  in  which  we  talk  with  ourselves, 
for  dialogue,  in  which  we  talk  as  we  walk  with 
God.  Ask  Him  to  make  these  good  things  the 
ordinary  tenor  of  your  life. 
220 


Rejoice    not  against  me,    O  mine  enemy :  when 
I  fatly  I  shall  arise.  Micah  vii.  8. 

THOU  art  glad,  O  child  of  the  darkness,  that 
the  child  of  God  has  fallen  into  the  pit :  thou 
laughest  derisively  and  in  scorn.  But  wait  to  see 
the  end  of  the  Lord,  for  He  is  very  pitiful.  Thy 
rock  is  not  as  our  Rock,  and  of  this  thou  shalt 
be  the  judge.  Our  God  will  chastise  with  many 
stripes  those  of  His  children  who  persist  in 
wrongdoing.  He  will  withdraw  the  light  of 
His  face.  He  will  permit  the  backslider  to  bear 
His  indignation.  But  He  does  not  keep  His 
anger  forever,  or  allow  the  enemy  and  avenger 
to  wreak  all  His  vengeance.  He  may  use  the 
stripes  of  the  children  of  men  to  a  certain  point ; 
but  immediately  they  exceed  it,  and  take  unhal- 
lowed license,  He  steps  in  and  delivers  His  be- 
loved, enabling  the  returning  and  restored  soul 
to  use  these  words. 

Wait,  O  soul ;  thy  God  will  presently  arise  to 
plead  thy  cause,  and  execute  judgment  for  thee ; 
do  not  put  forth  thine  hand  to  save  thyself;  wait 
on  Him,  He  will  deliver  thee;  He  will  bring 
thee  forth  to  the  light,  and  thou  shalt  behold  His 
righteousness  in  the  ordering  of  thy  life.  Only 
acknowledge  thy  sin  ;  cast  thyself  on  His  mercy ; 
and  accept  what  He  may  appoint  by  way  of  chas- 
tening. 

What  an  exquisite  word  is  here  for  those  who 
sit  in  darkness  from  any  cause  :  from  the  waning 
of  human  love ;  the  darkening  of  increasing 
physical  weakness ;  the  withdrawal  of  beloved 
faces,  one  by  one,  from  the  family  circle.  Look 
unto  the  Lord ;  wait  for  the  God  of  your  salva- 
tion ;  when  you  sit  in  darkness.  He  will  be  a 
light. 

"  In  darkest  shades,  if  He  appear, 
My  dawning  is  begun  ; 
He  is  my  soul's  sweet  morning  star, 
And  He  my  rising  sun." 

221 


The  Lord  hath  His  way  in  the  whirlwind  and 
in  the  storm.  Nahuni  i.  j. 

GOD'S  dealings  are  often  terrible. — He  rides 
on  the  whirlwind,  and  wraps  Himself  in  the 
storm.  But  the  child  of  God  looks  beneath  the 
dress  to  the  Father's  heart,  which  beats  with  as 
much  love  when  attired  thus  as  when  arrayed  in 
the  smiles  of  a  summer  eve.  The  whirlwind 
serves  a  useful  purpose  in  cleaning  the  trees  of 
rotten  boughs,  and  searching  the  corners  of  foetid 
courts ;  the  storm,  in  deluging  the  gulleys  and 
drains;  the  clouds,  in  forming  the  fertilizing 
showers  on  the  thirsty  land.  God  is  in  it  all. 
God  is  behind  the  tempests  that  sweep  over  and 
desolate  your  life:  this  is  His  way;  and  the 
clouds  that  overcast  your  sky  are  the  pavement 
of  His  feet;  on  our  side  they  seem  dark  and 
lowering;  but  on  the  other  side  they  are  like 
burnished  gold,  as  He  steps  across  them. 
Whenever  clouds  are  above,  remember  that 
God  is  at  hand.     They  are  the  dust  of  His  feet. 

God^s  way  is  gefierally  hidden. — The  clouds  as 
dust  conceal  Him ;  but  we  must  not  dwell  with 
melancholy  foreboding  on  the  clouds,  as  if  they 
were  all.  God  is  behind  them,  working  for  us, 
coming  to  our  rescue,  showing  Himself  strong  on 
our  behalf.  Whenever  the  clouds  gather  over 
your  life,  say  God  cannot  be  far  off — see,  the 
dust  He  raises  in  His  mighty  progress  betrays 
Him. 

God  counts  our  great  things  as  very  trifling. — 
A  cloud  is  a  great  thing  to  us;  it  sometimes 
seems  to  equal  the  Alps  in  magnificence,  in 
height,  in  girth ;  but  to  God  it  is  only  as  a  grain 
of  dust  to  us.  Our  difficulties,  perplexities,  and 
anxieties,  are  very  little  things  to  Him.  With 
one  movement  of  His  hand  He  could  sweep  them 
away,  as  you  can  move  dust-motes  from  your 
table.  Trust  Him !  Your  tears  are  much  to 
Him;  your  difficulties  nothing. 
222 


The  Lord  bringeth  agatfi  the  excellency  of  Jacob. 

Nahutn  ii.  2  (R.  v.). 

TOO  long  Nineveh  had  exerted  her  malign  in- 
fluence upon  the  fortunes  of  the  chosen  people ; 
that,  to  use  the  expressive  simile  of  the  eleventh 
verse,  it  had  resembled  a  den  of  lions,  whence 
ravenous  beasts  prowl  forth  to  devour  the  vil- 
lagers. The  Assyrians,  pouring  forth  from  their 
mighty  metropolis,  had  devastated  the  excellency 
of  Jacob,  the  cry  of  the  land  had  gone  up  to 
Jehovah ;  and  He  here  declares  His  determina- 
tion to  quell  the  enemy  and  avenger,  and  to 
bring  again  the  excellency  of  the  people  whom 
He  loved. 

It  may  be  that  you,  too,  have  been  carried  into 
captivity,  or  devastated  by  strongly  besetting 
sins;  though  you  pray  and  yearn  for  emancipa- 
tion, still  you  are  kept  low  by  the  depredations 
of  the  power  of  evil.  But  be  of  good  cheer; 
God  is  moving  to  your  help.  He  is  against  those 
who  are  against  you ;  He  will  bring  again  your 
excellency.  He  resembles  the  mother,  whose 
child  is  smitten  with  smallpox.  Does  she  love 
it  less  ?  Nay,  but  comes  nearer,  that  they  may 
fight  the  disease  together. 

You  shall  excel  in  faith  when  the  hindrance  is 
removed.  The  faith  that  once  characterized  you 
shall  arouse  with  its  former  vigor,  and  make  an 
open  pathway  down  which  heaven's  best  blessings 
may  enter  your  life.  At  its  summons  the  unseen 
will  become  more  real  than  the  seen,  and  God 
will  be  all  in  all.  You  shall  excel  also  in  hope. 
This  is  the  realizing  faculty,  accepting  the  assur- 
ances of  faith,  following  them  as  the  beacon- 
lights  that  guide  weary  sailors ;  for  hope  is  more 
than  faith,  as  the  artist  is  more  than  the  preparer 
of  colors.  You  shall  also  excel  in  love.  When 
self-will  looses  its  hold  upon  the  soul,  love  springs 
spontaneously  from  its  soil. 
223 


There  is  no  assuagmg  of  thy  hurt ;  thy  wound  is 
grievous.  Nahum  Hi.  ig  (r.  v.). 

THIS  is  one  of  the  greatest  chapters  in  Old 
Testament  prophecy.  Nahum  the  Elkoshite  was 
a  man  of  uncommon  power  of  imagination  and 
force  of  eloquence.  His  denunciation  of  Nin- 
eveh is  remarkably  forcible  and  eloquent.  You 
can  almost  hear  the  crack  of  the  whip,  the  rattling 
of  wheels,  and  see  the  heap  of  corpses  that  block 
the  passages.  Every  traveller,  from  Layard 
downward,  has  attested  the  literal  fulfillment  of 
these  predictions.  For  Nineveh,  from  the  time 
of  her  fall  to  the  present,  has  been  utterly  waste. 
Her  hurt  has  never  been  assuaged.  A  scar  upon 
the  earth's  surface  alone  marks  her  site. 

From  such  a  spectacle  we  may  well  turn  to  our 
beloved  country,  and  seriously  question  whether 
we  are  doing  all  that  we  can  to  stay  a  similar 
fate.  There  are  many  signs  that  she  is  being 
swept  along  in  the  same  stream  as  has  borne 
many  mighty  nations  down  to  ruin.  The  grow- 
ing luxury  of  the  rich  ;  the  abject  poverty  of  the 
poor  (a  child  was  burned  in  Whitechapel  the 
other  day  through  the  mother  having  to  sell  the 
fire-guard  to  buy  bread)  ;  the  gross  impurity  and 
immorality  of  our  streets;  the  increasing  dese- 
cration of  the  Rest  Day  ;  and  the  overwhelming 
bill  for  drink — these  things  cannot  be  unpun- 
ished. May  we  not  indeed  fear  that  God  will 
soon  rise  against  us  ?  Let  us  use  our  influence  as 
citizens,  and  our  prayer  as  saints,  to  avert  a  fate 
which  if  it  comes  will  be  irretrievable. 

Ah,  reader,  is  this  thy  case?  Hast  thou  an 
inward  hurt,  of  which  no  balm  or  medicine  has 
brought  assuagement?  Hast  thou  a  wound,  so 
grievous  that  no  art  has  sufficed  to  heal  it? 
Take  it  to  the  Living  Saviour.  Each  of  His  mir- 
acles, in  the  days  of  His  flesh,  has  a  spiritual 
counterpart  still. 

224 


Art  not  Thou  from  everlasting y  O  Lord  my  God? 
Thou  diest  not,  Hab.  i.  12.  (r.  v.,  marg.). 

NOTE  the  attributes  of  God,  which  are 
enumerated  in  these  words.  His  eternity — He 
is  from  everlasting ;  He  is  the  Holy  One — of 
purer  eyes  than  to  behold  evil ;  the  Almighty — 
the  Rock.  Is  it  not  wonderful  that  mortals 
should  be  permitted  to  put  the  possessive  pro- 
noun before  these  wonderful  words,  and  claim 
this  glorious  God  for  themselves  !  My  God ; 
mifie  Holy  One. 

But  the  most  remarkable  is  the  reading  sug- 
gested above  by  the  words,  *'Thou  diest  not  "  ; 
"  He  only  hath  immortality."  Time  cannot  lay 
its  hand  upon  His  nature,  or  death  dissolve  it. 
His  hair  is  white,  but  not  with  the  whiteness  of 
decay,  but  of  unutterable  purity.  He  need  not 
tremble  at  the  summons  of  man's  great  last  foe. 
Unchangeable  !  The  same  yesterday,  to-day, 
and  forever  !  The  death  of  death  !  The  de- 
struction of  the  grave  !     He  dies  not. 

All  this  is  true;  but  it  is  true  also  that  in  the 
person  of  his  Eternal  Son  He  died.  He  laid 
down  His  life,  though  none  took  it  from  Him. 
He  bowed  His  glorious  nature  beneath  the  yoke 
of  death.  Because  the  children  were  partakers 
of  flesh  and  blood,  He  took  part  in  the  same, 
that  through  death  He  might  destroy  death. 
Though  He  ever  liveth,  yet  He  became  obedient 
unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the  Cross. 

There  are  many  mysteries  like  those  at  which  the 
prophet  hints.  He  holds  his  peace  whilst  the 
wicked  swallows  up  the  man  that  is  more  right- 
eous than  himself.  It  is  the  problem  of  all  ages 
why  God  should  permit  it ;  but  whatever  be  the 
explanation,  it  cannot  be  because  He  has  vacated 
the  throne  of  the  universe,  or  that  His  arm  is 
weakened  by  disease.  From  everlasting  to  ever- 
lasting He  is  God. 

225 


/  will  look  forth  to  see  what  He  will  speak  with 
me.  Hab.  a.  /  (r.  v.). 

THE  prophet  had  made  his  complaint  in  the 
preceding  chapter;  and  now  he  climbs  the 
watch-tower,  much  as  the  watchman  did  who 
waited  for  tidings  of  the  battle  between  Joab 
and  Absalom.  He  looks  forth  for  God's  an- 
swer. This,  to  say  the  least,  is  respectful  in  our 
dealings  with  the  Almighty.  Too  often  we  ask 
questions,  and  do  not  wait  for  replies;  shoot 
prayer-arrows  into  the  air,  without  stopping  to 
see  where  they  alight,  or  what  quarry  they  strike. 
We  are  in  too  great  a  hurry,  to  take  time  and 
trouble  for  climbing  the  water-tower,  and  await- 
ing the  Divine  reply. 

God  still  speaks  to  the  waiting  soul.  Some- 
times, there  is  a  direct  answer  to  its  perplexity  ; 
at  others,  there  is  the  assurance  that  the  vision  is 
yet  for  the  appointed  time,  but  that  it  is  hasten- 
ing toward  the  end.  O  long-waiting  soul,  dost 
thou  hear  those  words  ?  Thou  hast  been  stand- 
ing long  upon  the  watch-tower.  Hope  has  al- 
most died  ;  but  the  vision  is  panting  in  its  haste 
to  be  fulfilled.  If  it  tarry,  wait  for  it ;  because 
it  is  already  on  the  way.  Every  throb  of  the 
pendulum  brings  it  nearer.  The  express  train  is 
hurrying  toward  thee,  with  its  precious  freight. 

How  often  God's  answers  come,  and  find  us 
gone !  We  have  waited  for  awhile,  and,  think- 
ing there  was  no  answer,  we  have  gone  our  way; 
but  as  we  have  turned  the  first  corner  the  post 
has  come  in.  God's  ships  touch  at  our  wharves; 
but  there  is  no  one  to  unload  them.  His  letters 
lie  at  the  office;  but  no  one  calls  for  them.  It 
is  not  enough  to  direct  your  prayer  unto  God  ; 
look  up,  and  look  out,  until  the  blessing  alights 
on  your  head.  When  we  ask  what  is  according 
to  His  will,  we  receive  while  we  pray. 
226 


O  Lord,  revive   Thy  work  in  the  fuidst  of  the 
years.  Hab.  Hi.  2. 

WHEN  we  are  oppressed  with  the  state  of  the 
Church  and  the  world,  as  Habakkuk  was,  there 
is  no  resource  but  to  turn  to  God.  It  is  of  no 
use  to  say  to  our  brother,  **  What  shall  we  do?  " 
Better  at  once  get  into  the  presence  of  the  Al- 
mighty. All  conferences  with  flesh  and  blood 
are  wasted  breath,  unless  there  has  been  a  pre- 
vious one  with  God. 

Note  also  the  unselfishness  of  the  prayer  which 
precedes  revival.  We  must  not  pray  "Revive 
viy  work,"  lest  the  insidious  temptation  come  in 
of  using  the  stream  of  God's  blessing  to  turn  our 
own  tiny  water-wheels  for  our  own  profit.  Let 
us  get  beyond  the  narrow  limits  of  our  church  or 
section,  and  ask  for  a  revival  of  God' s  work 
everywhere. 

We  do  not  need  a  new  Gospel,  but  a  revival — a 
revivifying  of  the  old  Gospel.  If  any  preach 
another  Gospel  than  that  which  the  apostles 
preached,  let  him  be  accursed  ;  he  is  selling  bran 
for  wheat;  he  is  filling  cartridges  with  sand. 
We  want  nothing  but  the  Gospel  of  the  Cross  of 
Jesus  Christ,  proclaimed  from  lips  which  have 
received  a  new  baptism  of  heavenly  power. 

Note  the  time.  Not  at  the  end  of  years,  but 
in  the  midst.  This  is  a  prayer  for  those  in 
middle  life.  They  are  apt  to  think  that  their 
power  for  service  has  passed  its  prime,  and  that 
the  successes  of  their  early  days  cannot  be  par- 
alleled. But  let  them  remember  that  in  the  midst 
of  the  years  God  can  revive  His  work,  and  ask 
for  it. 

What  an  argument  I  "  Remember  mercy." 
We  cannot  appeal  to  merit,  but  can  lay  great 
stress  on  mercy.  Lord,  have  mercy  on  Thy  Church 
— revive  her ;  and  ere  the  dispensation  close,  may 
she  arise  for  one  great  work  of  soul-salvation  1 
227 


/  will  search  Jerusalem  with  candles. 

Zeph.  i,  12. 

THE  state  of  things  in  the  chosen  city  was 
scandalous.  The  people  worshipped  the  host  of 
heaven  on  the  housetops  ;  the  temple-courts  were 
filled  with  the  priests  of  idolatry;  the  court 
affected  foreign  dress  and  manners.  Nothing 
could  prevent  the  invasion  of  the  Chaldeans  as 
ministers  of  the  Divine  vengeance.  These  were 
the  terrible  guests  whom  the  Almighty  had  sum- 
moned to  the  feast ;  and  the  feast  consisted  of 
the  spoils  of  the  city  (ver.  7). 

No  sin  of  His  people  can  escape  the  notice  of 
God.  He  searches  out  the  secret  evils  of  our 
hearts  with  lighted  candles,  not  for  His  vision 
alone,  but  for  ours ;  that  we  may  know,  and 
abhor  them,  and  put  them  from  us.  There  is  the 
candle  of  conscience.  The  spirit  of  man  is  as  the 
candle  of  the  Lord.  In  some  men  the  candle  is 
present,  but  not  lit :  in  others  it  is  lit  by  the 
power  of  the  Divine  Spirit ;  and  there  is  some- 
thing of  the  incandescent  flame  about  it  then. 

There  is  the  cafidle  of  outward  events.  How 
often  does  God  allow  some  incident  of  which  we 
hear  in  social  conversation,  or  read  in  the  news- 
paper, to  cast  a  sudden  and  unexpected  light 
upon  some  passages  in  our  lives  which  we  have 
carefully  shrouded  in  darkness.  Right  into  a 
hidden  closet  the  searchlight  falls,  saying  "thou 
art  the  man." 

Then  there  is  that  caridle  of  His  Holy  Word.  A 
text  or  sermon  unkindled  by  the  Spirit  of  God  is 
like  an  unlighted  candle.  But  when  God's  Holy 
Spirit  rests  on  it,  interfusing  it  with  fire,  then 
how  mighty  is  its  effect !  It  searches  the  heart 
and  tries  the  reins ;  it  reveals  to  man  his  thought 
and  the  real  object  of  his  existence,  that  he  may 
repent. 

228 


//  may  he  ye  shall  be  hid  in  the  day  of  the  Lord^s 
anger.  Zeph.  a.  3. 

THE  name  of  this  prophet  means,  "  Whom 
God  hides  or  protects."  The  hidden  man  invites 
others  to  his  hiding-place;  and  shows  how  we 
may  be  hidden  in  the  day  of  God's  anger.  It  is 
said  that  in  the  centre  of  the  wildest  cyclone 
there  is  a  point  of  absolute  calm :  so  amid  the 
wildest  storms  that  have  swept  the  face  of  the 
world  there  have  always  been  some  of  God's 
hidden  ones : — 

«« The  secret  place,  the  refuge  from  the  blast, 
The  glorious  Temple,  Lamb  of  God  art  Thou; 
Our  feet  shall  tread  the  golden  courts  at  last, 
Our  souls  have  entered  now." 

**I  cannot  deny,"  writes  Tersteegen,  *'the 
corruptions  of  the  external  Church ;  but  I  think 
my  dear  friend  has  more  necessary  things  to  at- 
tend to.  Within  !  Within  !  With  God  alone  !  " 
There  is  truth  here,  though  not  all  the  truth. 
We  must  have  Elijahs  as  well  as  Zepheniahs. 

Only  those  may  know  the  hidden  life  who  ful- 
fill the  conditions  here  described.  They  must  be 
meek  ;  they  must  work  His  judgment ;  they  must 
seek  righteousness  and  meekness.  It  is  the  soul 
that  bends  before  the  blast  of  the  terrible  ones ; 
that  gives  place  to  wrath,  not  because  of  pusilla- 
nimity, but  because  of  the  fear  of  the  Lord  ;  that 
hands  over  its  cause  of  alarm  and  fear  to  the 
Most  High,  which  abides  in  His  secret  place,  and 
hides  under  His  shadow. 

Let  us  seek  these  things,  and  then  there  will  be 
no  may -he  in  our  being  hidden.  We  shall  cer- 
tainly be  hidden  in  the  day  of  the  Lord's  anger ; 
hidden  in  the  wounds  of  Jesus,  hidden  in  His 
heart,  hidden  in  God  with  Christ,  hidden  in  the 
fiery  glory  of  His  intolerable  holiness. 

"  Rock  of  Ages,  cleft  for  me, 
Let  me  hide  myself  in  Thee !  " 
229 


The    Lord  thy    God  is  in   the  midst  of  thee^  a 
Mighty  One  who  will  save.       Zeph.  Hi.  //  (r.  v.). 

IF  this  announcement  is  compared  with  the 
foregoing  verse,  it  becomes  apparent  that  only 
those  may  take  its  blessed  comfort  who  have  made 
the  Lord  their  King.  It  is  when  the  Lord,  the 
King  of  Israel,  is  in  the  midst  that  we  cease  to 
fear  the  incursion  of  evil.  Entire  surrender  and 
consecration  must  precede  that  deliverance  from 
the  power  of  evil  which  we  all  desire  in  our 
holiest  hours. 

O  tempted  one,  who  fearest  every  hour  because 
of  the  fury  of  the  foe,  that  seems  only  waiting  to 
destroy,  look  no  longer  upon  Him,  but  behold 
thy  glorious  Lord.  ^^  He  will  save.''  Dare  to 
repeat  those  words  again  and  again,  as  a  sweet  re- 
frain. Dare  to  believe  that  the  battle  is  not  yours, 
but  His.  Fear  not ;  nor  let  thine  hands  be  slack  ! 
Do  thy  work  in  the  world,  and  let  God  keep 
thee. 

But  God  will  do  more  than  save  the  yielded 
trusting  one.  He  will  rejoice  over  the  soul  that 
finds  its  all  in  Himself.  Such  exquisite  satisfac- 
tion will  fill  His  glorious  nature,  that  it  shall  be 
as  when  the  heart  can  no  longer  contain  itself, 
and  wells  over  with  liquid  music.  It  is  much  to 
hear  a  nightingale  sing ;  more  to  hear  an  angel ; 
more  to  hear  some  child  of  Adam  redeemed  from 
sin  sing  the  new  song  :  but  most  to  hear  the  great 
God  break  out  into  song.  So  a  mother  sings 
over  her  babe.  O  my  God,  may  my  life  give 
Thee  joy ;   not  grief,  nor  tears,  but  a  song. 

But  He  does  not  always  express  Himself  thus. 
He  is  sometimes  '♦  silent  in  His  love."  At  such 
times  He  does  not  speak  or  sing,  but  broods  over 
the  soul  that  has  dared  to  trust  Him.  **  He  will 
rest  in  His  love.'"  There  are  times  when  the 
heart  is  too  full  of  blessedness  to  speak — it  has 
learned  to  abide  in  the  secret  place.  An  ocean 
too  full  to  permit  of  waves  ! 
230 


He  that  earneth  wages  earneth  wages  to  put  it 
into  a  bag  with  holes.  Hag.  i.b. 

IN  these  words,  spoken  on  their  return  from 
captivity,  God  remonstrates  with  His  people  for 
neglecting  the  rebuilding  of  His  house,  and  in- 
dicates this  as  the  reason  for  the  failure  of  their 
crops,  and  the  profitlessness  of  their  labors. 
They  seemed  to  put  their  hard-earned  wages  into 
a  bag  with  holes. 

How  true  a  description  of  many  in  the  present 
day  !  They  work  hard,  but  derive  little  comfort 
from  their  toils.  Their  homes  are  bare;  their 
children  unkempt ;  their  circumstances  meagre. 
They  are  always  in  anxiety.  Gambling,  drinking, 
loose  and  evil  company — are  indeed  bags  with 
holes.  But  there  are  otlier  analogies.  We  some- 
times find  our  days  slipping  away  without  ac- 
complishing anything  worth  mentioning.  We 
have  nothing  to  show  for  them — nothing  accom- 
plished, nothing  done.  Or  we  expend  time  and 
thought  on  plans  that  are  apparently  well  and 
carefully  devised,  but  they  prove  abortive  and 
disappointing.  All  this  is  like  a  laborer  putting 
his  wages  into  a  bag  with  holes,  and  when  he 
reaches  home  he  has  nothing  to  show  for  his 
labor. 

There  is  a  reason  for  this  loss  and  failure. 
What  applied  to  the  Jews  on  their  return  from 
captivity,  applies  still.  We  have  not  placed  God 
first.  We  have  run  every  man  to  his  own  house, 
while  His  house  has  lain  waste.  We  have 
worked  from  the  wrong  base  of  operations.  We 
have  not  made  first  things  first.  If  we  do  not 
trust  in  the  Lord  with  all  our  heart,  but  lean  to 
our  own  understanding;  if  in  all  our  ways  we  do 
not  acknowledge  Him  ;  if  our  eyes  are  not  single 
to  His  interests,  we  need  not  be  surprised  when 
He  calls  for  a  drought  upon  the  land.  Let  us 
consider  our  ways,  and  amend  them. 
831 


The   latter  glory  of  this  house  shall  be  greater 
than  the  former.  Hag.  U.  5,  9  (r.  v.). 

THE  new  Temple  was  deficient  in  the  splendid 
adornment  which  Solomon  had  lavished  on  the 
first.  Neither  gold,  nor  silver,  nor  precious 
stone  garnished  its  bare  walls.  But  Haggai  says 
that  this  lack  was  not  due  to  any  failure  in  the 
resources  of  Israel's  God.  The  silver  and  the 
gold  were  His;  and  if  He  had  chosen  He 
could  have  poured  them  without  stint  into  the 
lap  of  His  people.  But  He  purposely  withheld 
them,  that  their  attention  might  not  be  distracted 
from  the  spiritual  glory  which  was  to  make  the 
second  Temple  more  famous  than  the  lavished 
gold  of  Parvaim.  The  latter  glory  of  this  house, 
or  the  glory  of  this  latter  house,  shall  be  greater, 
saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts ;  and  then,  as  though  to 
indicate  that  the  glory  was  to  be  moral  and 
spiritual,  the  Divine  voice  adds,  ''And  in  this 
place  will  I  give  peace." 

Dear  child  of  God,  it  has  pleased  thy  Heavenly 
Father  to  withhold  from  thee  both  gold  and  sil- 
ver. Thou  has  just  enough  to  live  on,  but  that 
is  all.  With  the  apostle  thou  sayest,  "  Silver  and 
gold  have  I  none."  God  could  have  done  other- 
wise for  thee ;  for  the  silver  and  gold  are  His. 
But  He  purposely  abstained  lest  thy  head  should 
be  lifted  up;  lest  thy  attention  should  be  so 
absorbed  by  these  things  as  to  neglect  the  sure 
riches;  lest  the  radiance  of  thy  faith,  which  is 
more  precious  than  gold  tried  in  the  fire,  or  the 
beauty  of  thy  meek  and  quiet  spirit,  should  be 
obscured  by  the  tawdry  sheen  of  earth's  metals. 

But  peace,  and  righteousness,  and  meek  hu- 
mility, are  of  everlasting  work.  Cultivate  these; 
let  thy  life  be  a  Temple  whose  glory  is  the  in- 
dwelling of  God ;  expect  that  the  Desire  of  all 
nations  should  make  thee  His  home,  and  shine 
through  thee  to  others. 

232 


He  stood  among  the  myrtle-trees  that  were  in  the 
bottom.  Zech.  i.  8. 

THE  myrtle  in  the  lowland  vale  is  a  beautiful 
emblem  of  the  people  of  God.  They  do  not 
aspire  to  be  forest  trees,  but  are  content  to  fill  a 
little  space  if  He  be  glorified.  As  the  myrtle 
seeks  its  home  in  shady  and  moist  lands,  so  the 
believer  needs  shadow  and  moisture.  God's 
ideal  for  us  is  a  lowly  plant,  fragrant  in  scent, 
and  graceful  in  its  appearance. 

But,  however  lowly  and  humble  the  myrtle 
might  be,  the  Angel  of  Jehovah,  who  could  have 
been  none  other  but  the  Lord  Jesus  Himself,  was 
there.  At  dead  of  night  the  prophet  beheld  Him 
sitting  on  a  red  horse,  and  attended  by  a  retinue 
of  horsemen,  who  had  come  back  to  Him  after 
walking  to  and  fro  in  all  the  earth.  The  Lord 
has  His  throne  in  the  midst  of  His  people,  and 
His  servants  post  over  sea  and  land  to  do  His 
bidding  on  their  behalf. 

And  thus  the  prophet  overheard  the  colloquy. 
The  Lord's  inquiry  and  the  Angel's  answer  were 
clearly  distinguished.  He  also  heard  the  appeal 
made  by  the  Redeemer  of  Israel  to  the  Eternal, 
as  He  pleaded  that  God  would  avenge  His  peo- 
ple's cause,  and  was  answered  with  good  and 
comforting  words.  The  Angel  Jehovah  who 
pleaded  for  Israel  (ver.  12)  still  pleads  for  His 
Church  :   and  is  similarly  answered. 

Yes  !  we  are  the  objects  of  divine  solicitude. 
Jesus  with  His  bright  angels  is  on  our  side.  Not 
more  really  was  He  with  the  disciples  of  old, 
who  were  but  as  myrtles,  than  He  is  with  us. 
He  is  still  displeased  with  those  who  invade  our 
lives  with  their  cruelties.  He  is  jealous  for  His 
people  with  a  great  jealousy.  He  will  yet  com- 
fort Zion,  and  choose  Jerusalem.  However  dark 
your  night,  dare  to  believe  that  the  Lord  of  the 
Angels  has  stooped  to  your  myrtle-tree  life  to 
help  and  bless. 

233 


I  will  be  unto  her  a  wall  of  fire  round  about,  and 
the  glory  in  the  midst  of  her.  Zech.  U.  5. 

JERUSALEM  was  to  be  rebuilt ;  but  it  would 
soon  outgrow  the  narrow  boundaries  of  the  walls 
which  Nehemiah  and  Ezra  had  reared  with  so 
much  care.  The  multitude  of  men  and  cattle 
would  pour  over  the  ramparts  as  villages  spread 
themselves  out  over  the  open  country.  What 
then :  would  there  be  no  wall  to  arrest  the  foe 
and  preserve  the  inhabitants  from  attack  ?  Yes ; 
there  would  be  one,  because  the  presence  of  God 
would  be  as  a  wall  of  fire  round  about.  Nor 
would  this  be  all,  because  He  would  be  the  glory 
in  the  midst  (Isaiah  iv.  5). 

How  busy  some  of  us  are  in  building  walls  to 
our  lives — the  walls  of  property ;  of  family  al- 
liances; of  preparation  against  all  kinds  of  ill. 
But  the  utmost  we  can  do  is  not  enough  to  de- 
fend us  against  the  inevitable  perils  and  dangers 
of  our  mortal  life.  Better  far  is  it  to  hide  within 
the  enfolding,  encouraging  presence  of  the 
Eternal  God,  which  is  as  a  rampart  of  fire.  Can 
plague  or  pestilence  pass  through  fire  ?  Travellers 
light  a  cordon  of  fires  to  surround  them  with 
their  protection  from  tigers  and  wolves :  so  the 
soul  hides  in  God.  Notice  the  exquisite  similitude 
— we  are  safe  as  "  the  apple  of  His  eye."  What 
a  safe  environment  is  furnished  by  the  brows, 
lids,  lashes,  strong  frontal  bones,  and  lachrymal 
water  to  cleanse  each  defect.  We  raise  the  arm 
at  once  to  protect  the  eye.  So  safe  art  thou,  O 
weak  believer  ! 

But  we  need  not  defence  only,  but  illumina- 
tion ;  not  the  fire  around  alone,  but  within  ;  not 
deliverance,  but  salvation.  Where  can  this  be 
obtained,  save  in  the  indwelling  of  the  Son  of 
God,  making  our  hearts  so  full  of  His  burning 
purity  that  sin  might  be  abashed  and  no  sacrile- 
gious foot  intrude  ? 

234 


A  brand  plucked  out  of  the  fire. 

Zech,  in.  2, 

SUCH  is  the  divine  economy,  that  God  makes 
much  of  brands,  fragments,  castaways.  What 
others  regard  as  unworthy  of  their  heed  is  dear 
and  priceless  to  the  great  Lover  of  souls.  The 
smoking  flax,  the  bruised  reed,  the  woman  that 
was  a  sinner,  the  dying  thief,  the  brand  plucked 
from  the  fire,  charred  and  blackened  and  almost 
useless — those  whom  man  rejects  as  worthless — 
the  base  things  of  the  world,  and  the  things  that 
are  despised  ;  these  are  chosen  to  bring  to  naught 
the  tilings  that  are,  so  that  no  flesh  should  glory 
in  His  presence. 

Hear  the  enemy  and  the  Son  of  Man  speaking 
concerning  that  smoking  brand.  The  enemy 
says  :  It  is  so  worthless  and  useless,  so  nearly 
eaten  through  with  fire,  so  black  and  charred — 
cast  it  back  again  into  the  flame,  and  take  some 
other.  But  Jesus  says  :  Because  it  is  so  nearly 
worthless,  because  no  one  else  would  find  any  use 
for  it,  because  all  others  would  fling  it  back  to  be 
consumed — there  is  the  more  reason  why  I  should 
take  it  in  hand ;  nothing  less  than  Divine  skill  or 
patience  will  avail. 

And  see  what  He  will  do  for  that  charred 
ember.  He  will  take  away  the  filthy  garments, 
clothe  with  change  of  raiment,  and  set  the  fair 
mitre  of  priesthood  on  his  head.  From  the 
verge  of  the  pit  to  the  proximity  of  the  throne  ! 

"  The  fair  mitre"  may  fairly  be  taken  to  rep- 
resent a  fresh  enduement  of  the  Holy  Spirit  for 
service.  We  must  receive  a  new  anointing  ere 
we  can  go  into  the  temple  of  God,  to  perform 
the  priestly  offices  of  praying  for  the  people,  and 
of  coming  forth  to  bless  them.  Let  us  break  in 
on  the  heavenly  ceremonial,  pleading  for  one  an- 
other that  none  may  be  missed,  but  that  on  each 
the  fresh  mitre  may  be  bestowed. 
235 


Two  golden  spouts. 

Zech.  iv.  12  (R.  v.). 

WHAT  a  sermon  there  is  in  a  wick  !  Sit  be- 
side it,  and  ask  how  it  dares  hope  to  be  able  to 
supply  light  for  hours  and  hours  to  come.  * '  Will 
you  not  soon  burn  to  an  end,  you  wick  of  lamp?  " 
*'No;  I  do  not  fear  it,  since  the  light  does  not 
burn  me,  though  it  burns  on  me.  I  only  bear 
to  it  the  oil  which  saturates  my  texture.  I  am 
but  the  ladder  up  which  it  climbs.  It  is  not  I, 
but  the  oil  that  is  in  me,  that  furnishes  the 
light." 

Yes,  that  is  it,  and  when  we  anticipate  the 
future,  our  hearts  might  well  misgive  us  if  we 
were  counting  on  meeting  its  demands  from  our 
only  slender  resources.  But  this  is  not  necessary  ; 
we  do  not  give  light  to  the  world ;  we  only  re- 
ceive the  oil  from  the  Holy  Spirit  and  the  spark 
of  His  fire ;  and  if  we  burn  steadily  through  the 
long  dark  hours,  it  is  because  we  have  learned 
to  translate  into  living  beauty  those  supplies 
of  grace  which  we  receive  in  fellowship  with 
Jesus. 

But  how  necessary  it  is  that  nothing  interrupt 
the  flow  of  oil ;  that  there  be  no  uncleanliness 
permitted  to  clog  and  obstruct  the  narrow  bore  of 
the  golden  spout  of  faith.  Let  us  daily  see  to 
this ;  let  us  watch  and  pray,  that  there  may  be 
no  hindrance  or  impediment ;  let  us  draw  from 
our  King-Priest  more  and  more  of  His  grace,  to 
enable  us  to  persevere.  It  cannot  be  too  often 
repeated,  that  it  is  not  what  we  do  for  Him,  but 
what  He  does  through  us,  which  really  blesses 
men.  Be  satisfied  then  to  be  only  a  wick  un- 
seen amid  the  glory  of  the  light  that  crowns  it, 
and  willing  to  be  consumed  by  the  daily  removal 
of  the  charred  fringe.  Delivered  to  death  for 
Jesus'  sake,  that  the  life  of  Jesus  may  be  manifest 
in  your  mortal  flesh. 

236 


Then  said  I  to  the  Angel  that  talked  with  me^ 
Whither  do  these  bear  the  ephah  ?       Zech.  v.  lo. 

THE  first  vision  of  this  chapter  denounces 
those  who  had  sinned  against  the  first  and  sec- 
ond tables  of  the  law ;  the  record  of  their  sin 
would  be  written  in  unmistakable  syllables,  and 
would  consume  the  houses  of  evil-doers  with  dry- 
rot  (ver.  4).  But  the  second  vision  is  most  con- 
solatory. A  woman  who  symbolizes  the  wicked- 
ness of  the  land  is  thrust  into  an  immense  ephah, 
and  covered  with  a  leaden  weight,  and  then  is 
borne  away  from  the  Holy  Land  by  two  women 
in  whose  wings  are  strength  and  speed.  Its  des- 
tination was  Babylon  ;  thence  had  come  the  prin- 
cipal forms  of  iniquity,  with  which  the  chosen 
people  were  cursed,  and  thither  would  they  re- 
turn. But  what  encouragement  to  every  pious 
Jew  to  know  that  the  wickedness  which  had 
brought  God's  judgments  on  the  land  was  re- 
moved beyond  recall ! 

This  choice  is  presented  to  every  one  of  us  : — 
If  we  refuse  to  confess  our  sin,  it  eats  out  our 
heart  and  life,  as  cancer  and  consumption  do  the 
fibre  of  life.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  we  confess, 
and  seek  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  our  iniquity 
will  be  purged,  and  the  power  of  sin  broken.  With 
swift  and  sure  salvation  will  God  come  to  our  re- 
lief, and  the  chains  that  bind  shall  drop  from  off 
us  like  wreaths  of  hoarfrost  before  the  sun.  What 
though  the  tendency  and  possibility  of  sin  remain 
yet  within  us;  yet  the  thrall  of  wickedness  is 
abolished.  However  many  the  dark  transgres- 
sions of  the  past,  when  sought  for,  they  cannot 
be  found ;  and  whatever  the  temptation  without, 
and  the  frailty  within,  we  are  learning  to  abhor 
that  which  is  evil,  and  cleave  to  that  which  is 
good.  So  our  path  mounts  up  on  a  stairway  of 
light  to  the  gates  of  everlasting  day.  **  Awake 
to  righteousness,  and  sin  not." 
237 


Behold  the  Man  whose  name  is  The  Branch. 

Zech.  vi.  12. 

THREE  men  came  from  Babylon,  where  many 
Jews  remained,  even  after  the  return  under  Ezra 
and  Nehemiah  ;  they  brought  presents  to  the 
new-found  temple.  Their  names  were  Robust; 
the  Goodness  of  God  ;  God-knows.  Of  the  gold 
and  silver  a  double  crown  was  made,  and  placed 
on  Joshua's  head  :  one  circle,  as  emblem  of  the 
priest ;  the  other,  of  the  king— the  two  signify- 
ing the  final  gathering  of  Israel's  outcasts  to  the 
Messiah,  who  would  then  be  recognized  as  their 
true  King  and  Priest.  In  the  Jewish  common- 
wealth it  was  without  precedent  for  the  same 
man  to  be  both  king  and  priest ;  but  as  the  time 
drew  nearer  the  advent  of  the  Lord,  revelation 
concerning  His  marvellous  Person  grew  in  clear- 
ness, and  the  majestic  combination  of  glory  in 
His  character  became  apparent.  In  His  Church 
Christ  is  Priest  and  King,  after  the  order  of  Mel- 
chizedek,  and  between  the  two  offices  is  no  dis- 
pute. 

As  Branch,  He  is  a  scion  of  David's  ancient 
stock ;  and  through  His  far-reaching  boughs  the 
sap  of  the  eternal  purpose  breaks  into  flower  and 
fruit.  He  sprouted  out  from  His  place,  Bethle- 
hem, as  predicted,  and  as  befitted  one  of  David's 
line. 

As  Builder,  He  began  to  build  the  Temple  of 
the  Lord,  laying  its  foundations  in  the  blood  of 
His  cross.  He  quarries  the  stones  from  the  hearts 
of  His  people,  and  superintends  the  plan  of  the 
growing  structure,  as  its  Architect.  Through  the 
ages  tier  after  tier  is  being  added,  though  the 
builders  pass  :  and  He  will  place  the  top-stone  at 
His  second  advent.  The  Temple  grows  toward 
completion.  Let  us  ask  whether  we  have  been 
built  into  its  fabric,  or  left  as  those  huge  boulders 
at  Baalbec,  shaped  for  the  temple  but  never  car- 
ried beyond  the  quarry. 

238 


When  ye  fasted  and  mourned  .  .   .  did  ye  at  all 
fast  unto  Met  ^^^^  ^^  ^^^  ^  ■^^<^^^-  ^»-  5- 

THE  men  at  Bethel  asked  this  question  of  the 
priests;  it  was  answered  by  the  prophet.  The 
fast  of  the  fifth  month  was  in  memory  of  the  fall 
of  Jerusalem ;  that  of  the  seventh  commemorated 
the  murder  of  Gedaliah,  when  the  last  blow  was 
struck  at  Jewish  independence.  The  question 
was :  Should  the  restored  Jews  continue  these 
fasts  now  that  the  events  they  recalled  were  for- 
gotten in  the  abounding  joy  of  the  new  state  ?  It 
was  a  question  of  rite  and  ceremony  and  outward 
observance ;  and  the  prophet  answers  in  effect : 
*'Ye  take  much  trouble  and  thought  about  the 
observance  of  a  man-constituted  religious  rite ; 
would  that  you  were  equally  solicitous  to  practice 
those  virtues,  and  denounce  the  vices,  which  were 
the  theme  of  so  many  expostulations  and  warn- 
ings of  the  older  prophets." 

God  invariably  demands  a  religion  which  does 
not  consist  in  outward  rites  and  ceremonies,  but 
is  inward  and  spiritual ;  and  demands  true  judg- 
ment, the  showing  of  mercy  and  compassion,  the 
forsaking  of  oppression  and  evil  imaginings.  This 
is  unpalatable  enough  to  the  natural  man,  who 
pulls  away  his  shoulder. 

On  the  general  question,  one  would  advise  that 
there  is  no  need  to  observe  the  sad  anniversaries 
of  our  sins  and  their  accompanying  punishment, 
if  once  we  are  assured  of  God's  free  forgiveness. 
When  He  forgives  and  restores,  the  need  for 
dwelling  on  the  bitter  past  is  over;  and  we 
should  put  off  our  sackcloth  and  array  ourselves 
with  festal  garments.  This  is  a  most  salutary 
and  necessary  lesson.  Too  many  of  us  are  al- 
ways dwelling  beside  the  graves  of  the  dead  past. 
Each  month  has  an  anniversary  of  something  we 
have  lost.  '*  Not  looking  behind  "  should  be  the 
motto  of  our  Christian  life. 
239 


Should  it  also  be  marvellous  t7i  Mine  eyes,  saith 
the  Lord?  Zech.  viii.  6. 

MARVELLOUS  !  Marvellous  !  !  Probably 
there  is  no  adjective  more  frequently  on  our  lips 
than  this,  in  these  wonderful  years  when  we  are 
reaping  the  harvest  of  centuries  of  patient  sow- 
ing, and  when  any  morning  the  newspapers  may 
announce  a  discovery  which  will  revolutionize 
our  methods  of  illumination,  or  locomotion,  or 
military  organization. 

The  other  day  we  were  told  that  the  philoso- 
pher's stone  was  found  at  last ;  and  that  silver 
can  be  transformed  into  gold ;  to-morrow  we  may 
rub  our  eyes  at  the  marvellous  news  that  the  North 
Pole  has  been  reached.  Men  resemble  the  little 
child  led  into  a  toy-shop,  or  listening  to  a  lecture 
at  the  Royal  Institute,  with  open-eyed  wonder 
and  open-mouthed  exclamation. 

But  none  of  these  things  are  wonderful  to  God  ; 
they  are  but  the  unravelling  of  His  thoughts,  the 
discovery  of  His  secrets  !  They  are  only  marvel- 
lous to  us  because  we  are  as  yet  in  the  baby  stage, 
waking  up  to  know  a  little  of  what  a  wonderful 
God  He  is.  Like  a  little  child  in  Wonderland, 
our  God  is  leading  man  from  room  to  room,  tell- 
ing him  such  wonderful  stories  of  His  nature  and 
creative  work,  as  make  us  continually  exclaim. 
How  wonderful ! 

But  there  are  more  wonderful  things  than  these 
— that  rebels  should  be  forgiven,  prodigals  re- 
stored, the  sons  of  darkness  changed  into  chil- 
dren of  light,  Satan  driven  out  before  the  stronger 
than  he,  the  unclean  heart  made  the  pure  temple 
of  the  holy  God.  Talk  they  of  marvels  in  the 
natural  world  !  These  pale  before  the  star  of 
Bethlehem,  the  sunset  of  Calvary,  and  the  radi- 
ance of  the  Resurrection  morning.  And  we  shall 
see  greater  things  than  these,  when  we  follow  on 
to  know  through  unending  ages. 
240 


Because  of  the  hlood  of  thy  covenant ,  I  have  sent 
forth  thy  prisoners,  Zech.  ix.  ii, 

THE  state  of  the  Jews  in  Palestine  is  presented 
under  the  figure  of  prisoners,  shut  up,  as  Joseph 
of  old,  in  disused  water-pits,  from  which  the 
water  had  been  drawn  off,  leaving  a  miry  swamp 
behind.  Jeremiah  sank  in  one  of  these,  almost 
to  suffocation.  But  all  the  while  they  might 
reasonably  be  prisoners  of  hope,  not  of  despair ; 
of  hope,  because  the  seventy  years  had  expired ; 
of  hope,  because  the  purpose  of  their  captivity 
had  been  achieved ;  of  hope,  because  God  had 
entered  into  covenant  with  their  fathers,  and  had 
ratified  it  with  blood.  And,  because  of  this,  tliey 
would  go  forth  out  of  the  pit. 

These  words  will  probably  be  read  by  many 
other  prisoners  :  prisoners  of  circumstance ;  pris- 
oners in  the  hands  of  strong  oppressors  ;  prison- 
ers in  the  utmost  extremity.  They  fear  every 
day  because  of  the  fury  of  the  oppressor,  as 
though  he  were  ready  to  destroy.  Behold,  I 
bring  to  such  of  these  as  are  united  with  the  Son 
of  God,  good  tidings  of  great  joy  !  God  will 
ever  be  mindful  of  His  covenant.  You  may  for- 
get, or  be  utterly  unworthy  of  His  continued 
favor ;  you  may  have  involved  yourself  in  diffi- 
culties of  your  own  making,  the  consequences  of 
your  own  sin ;  but  you  must  never  forget  that  you 
are  bound  to  God  by  the  blood  of  an  everlasting 
covenant.  In  the  depth  of  your  despair  you  may 
appropriate  the  psalmist's  words,  "Remember 
the  covenant !  "  And  He  who  brought  again 
from  the  dead  the  Lord  Jesus,  the  Great  Shep- 
herd, will  raise  you  from  the  dark  dungeon,  and 
make  you  sit  with  princes.  He  will  certainly 
chasten,  but  He  will  assuredly  redeem.  Be  of 
good  cheer,  ye  prisoners  of  hope  !  According 
to  covenant,  God  comes  down  the  long  corridor 
to  throw  open  the  prison  doors. 
241 


They  shall  be  as  though  I  had  not  cast  them  off: 
for  I  a7n  the  Lord  their  God.  Zech.  x.  6. 

GOD  distinguishes,  in  these  words,  between  the 
civil  rulers  of  the  people,  called  shepherds,  and 
the  people,  His  flock.  He  was  determined  to  in- 
terpose on  the  behalf  of  His  people,  and  to  re- 
deem them  from  the  troubles  in  which  their  rulers 
had  involved  them.  The  distinct  mention  of 
Judah  and  Israel  foreshadows  a  more  complete 
restoration  than  that  which  had  brought  them 
from  Babylon ;  in  which  Judah  alone,  with  a 
few  other  Israelites  from  the  other  tribes,  partici- 
pated. This  restoration  is  yet  future ;  but  when 
it  comes,  it  will  be  so  complete  that  the  long  his- 
tory of  the  centuries  shall  be  obliterated  ;  and 
both  the  house  of  Judah  and  the  house  of  Joseph 
will  be  as  though  they  had  never  been  cast  off. 

Hast  thou  been  cast  away  from  the  hand  of 
God — not  as  far  as  thy  salvation  is  concerned, 
but  for  His  purposes  of  service  ?  Be  sure  to  put 
away  your  sin.  Ask  for  rain  in  the  time  of  the 
latter  rain — the  gracious  rain  of  the  Holy  Spirit ; 
put  away  the  false  ideals  which  you  have  followed, 
as  Israel  false  gods;  then  He  will  bring  you 
again. 

Your  sins  shall  be  remembered  no  more — the 
deep  gulf  of  separation  shall  be  bridged ;  the 
years  devoured  by  the  locust  shall  be  restored ; 
the  dead  past  shall  bury  its  dead  ;  the  river  of  the 
water  of  life  will  flow  again  into  the  channels 
which  it  filled  once  with  music,  but  have  so  long 
been  dry ;  and  you  shall  be  as  though  you  had 
never  been  cast  away.  If  you  take  the  precious 
from  among  the  vile,  you  shall  not  remove.  God 
not  only  forgives,  but  obliterates  the  memory  of 
past  failure  and  sin.  He  reposes  as  much  confi- 
dence in  us  as  though  we  had  never  deceived 
Him ;  He  treats  His  prodigals  as  though  they  had 
never  gone  astray. 

242 


/  took  two  staves,  the  one  I  called  Beauty ,  and 
the  other  I  called  Bands.  Zech.  xi.  7. 

THE  prophet  exercised  his  office  amongst  the 
poor  of  the  land.  They  gave  heed  unto  him 
(ver.  11),  and  recognized  that  he  spoke  the  word 
of  the  Lord.  It  always  has  been  so ;  and  such 
people  make  the  best  flock,  for  pastoral  oversight. 

One  day,  the  prophet  appeared  amongst  these 
humble  folk  with  two  staves :  Beauty,  to  repre- 
sent the  possible  excellence  of  the  people  whom 
God  loved  ;  Bands,  to  denote  the  unity  by  which 
the  entire  nation  should  have  been  bound  in  one. 
These  twain  he  broke  to  show,  first,  that  God 
would  be  compelled  to  choose  another  people  to 
set  forth  His  praise;  and,  secondly,  that  the 
unity  of  Israel  would  be  annulled.  When  his 
hearers  had  received  these  announcements,  wrung 
from  his  heart,  their  sole  response  was  to  make  a 
collection  amongst  them  in  recognition  of  his 
pastoral  care;  and  this  amounted  only  to  the 
price  of  a  good  bond-servant  (Exod.  xxi.  32). 
What  a  miserable  return  for  all  the  prophet's  tears 
and  words  ! 

All  this  was  symbolical  of  our  Lord.  He 
longs  for  the  beauty  and  unity  of  His  Church. 
But,  alas  !  how  bitterly  He  has  been  disappointed  ! 
How  hopelessly  He  has  snapped  His  staves  !  How 
ungraciously  His  reward  has  been  meted  out  to 
Him  !  (Matt.  xxvi.  15).  The  historical  counter- 
part of  this  scene  was  afforded  in  His  closing 
discourses  and  final  betrayal ;  and  its  spiritual 
counterpart  is  being  enacted  day  by  day.  O  my 
soul !  hast  thou  missed  the  beauty  and  unity  He 
chose  for  thee  ?  Hast  thou  esteemed  His  service 
of  small  account  ?  Art  thou  like  the  Pharisees, 
that  use  the  price  of  blood  for  the  Potter's  Field  ? 
(Matt,  xxvii.  6,  7,  10).  Repent  thee,  lest  the 
Good  Shepherd  be  compelled  to  adopt  severer 
methods,  and  pass  thee  also  through  the  refining 
fires. 

243 


They  shall  look  upon  Me  whom  they  have  pierced^ 
and  they  shall  mourn,  Zech.  xii.  lo. 

THE  fulfillment  of  these  words  is  evidently 
future.  A  time  is  undoubtedly  coming  when  the 
Jews  shall  recognize  that  Jesus  is  their  brother. 
That  scene  in  Joseph's  palace,  when  he  made 
himself  known  to  his  brethren,  and  they  looked 
on  him  whom  they  had  cast  into  the  pit  and 
mourned  with  bitter  tears,  shall  be  literally  en- 
acted before  the  eyes  of  the  world.  The  prophet 
tells  us  that  this  great  reconciliation  will  take 
place,  when  their  foes  will  be  in  the  siege  against 
Jerusalem  ;  from  which  we  infer  that  they  will  be 
restored  to  their  own  land  in  unbelief,  but  will 
be  led  to  recognize  Jehovah-Jesus  when  He  comes 
to  their  rescue  (Rev.  i.  7). 

But  the  interesting  point  for  us  to  notice  is  the 
precise  place  in  which  their  morning  breaks  out 
with  its  exceeding  great  and  bitter  cry.  It  is 
after  they  have  been  saved  (ver.  7) ;  after  they 
have  been  engirded  with  strength ;  after  their 
foes  have  been  destroyed.  Then  the  sluice-gates 
of  sorrow  are  opened,  and  the  bitter  tears  gush 
forth.  They  look  on  Him  whom  they  pierced, 
and  mourn.  This  is  the  true  place  of  penitential 
grief.  It  was  when  the  woman  had  been  already 
forgiven  that  she  loved  much,  and  covered  the 
Lord's  feet  with  tears. 

Do  not  chide  yourself  if  your  sorrow  for  sin  is 
meagre  and  belated.  This  is  quite  likely  to  be 
the  case,  until  you  have  deeper  experience  of  the 
love  of  your  dear  Lord.  But  the  more  you  know 
Him ;  the  more  you  gaze  on  the  piercings  of  His 
heart,  the  more  you  will  mourn,  as  one  that  is  in 
bitterness  for  the  firstborn.  Pour  on  me  this 
grace,  O  Lord,  and  give  me  this  brokenness  of 
heart !  It  was  the  figure  of  Christ  on  the  cross 
that  broke  down  Count  Zinzendorf's  proud 
heart. 

244 


Awake,    O  sword,    against  my   Shepherd,    and 
against  the  tnafi  that  is  my  Fellow.    Zech.  xiU.  7. 

THERE  is  no  uncertainty  as  to  the  application 
of  these  striking  words.  On  the  eve  of  His 
death  our  Lord  appropriated  them  to  Himself. 
To  His  troubled  disciples  was  He  not  the  Shep- 
herd and  they  the  little  flock  ?  (Matt.  xxvi.  31). 
How  well  every  word  suits  His  lips. 

He  was  a  Shepherd,  true,  steadfast  to  His 
Father's  charge.  There  is  a  special  emphasis  in 
the  pronoun  jtiy  :  since  the  Father  had  given  over 
to  His  care  a  number  of  souls  who  were  His,  but 
whom  He  committed  to  the  Son  with  the  charge 
that  He  should  lose  none,  but  raise  all  of  them 
up  at  the  last  day. 

But  He  was  more  than  Shepherd.  He  was  Je- 
hovah's Fellow.  From  eternity  He  had  dwelt  in 
the  bosom  of  the  Father.  He  counted  not 
equality  with  God  a  prize  to  be  grasped  at,  as 
though  there  were  any  uncertainty  about  it.  It 
was  His  native  right.  To  all  the  deep  secrets 
and  purposes  of  God  He  was  privy :  in  all  the 
plans  of  creation,  providence,  and  redemption. 
He  had  fellowship.  My  Shepherd,  said  the  Al- 
mighty;  and  my  Fellow.  But,  O  my  soul, 
stand  still  and  wonder  :  He  who  was  all  this  be- 
came also  a  man  !  What  an  astonishing  combi- 
nation :  The  man  that  is  *'  my  Fellow"  !  The 
mediator  between  God  and  man  was  Himself — 
man. 

But  listen  to  the  appeal  to  the  sword  of  Divine 
justice.  It  had  slept.  Even  since  the  sin  of 
Eden  it  had  remained  quiet  and  unavenging. 
The  pledge  of  the  Son  to  come  in  the  fullness  of 
time  met  all  its  demands.  But  when  He  came  it 
awoke.  He  was  made  sin  for  us  :  He  bore  the 
penalty  of  our  transgression :  He  was  led  as  a 
lamb  to  the  slaughter  and  slain.  And  now,  O 
sword  of  Divine  Justice,  Thou  hast  returned  into 
Thy  sheath,  never  again  to  awake. 
245 


In  that  day  shall  there  be  upon  the  bells  of  the 
horses y  Holiness  unto  the  Lord.        Zech.  xiv.  20. 

IN  the  days  which  the  prophet  anticipated,  the 
knowledge  and  love  of  God  would  be  universally 
diffused.  The  method  in  which  he  expresses 
this  is  as  significant  as  it  is  beautiful.  Horses 
were  forbidden  under  the  Jewish  law,  because  of 
the  temptations  they  presented  to  pride  and  war ; 
but  they  would  become  dedicated  to  God,  and 
their  furniture  or  trappings  would  be  emblazoned 
with  the  same  sacred  words  that  shone  of  old 
from  the  high  priest's  golden  frontlet.  So,  the 
commonest  utensils  in  the  Lord's  house  would 
become  as  sacred  vessels. 

Such  a  day  ought  to  be  our  everyday  experi- 
ence. "Holiness  to  the  Lord"  should  be  writ- 
ten on  our  commonest  and  most  ordinary  actions. 
The  holy  emotions  and  intentions  that  thirst  in 
our  bosoms  on  the  Lord's  day  and  in  the  Lord's 
house  should  always  characterize  us.  Whether 
we  eat,  or  drink,  or  whatever  we  do,  we  should 
do  all  for  the  glory  of  God. 

Many  bells  ring  in  our  lives  hour  by  hour :  for 
awaking  from  our  sleep,  for  meals,  for  work  in 
the  school  or  factory,  for  our  attendance  on  those 
who  employ  us.  There  is  the  bell  of  call  for  the 
surgeon,  the  clergyman,  the  man  of  business. 
Let  us  look  on  each  summons,  from  whatever 
quarter,  as  being  the  call  of  God,  as  much  so  as 
the  recurring  duties  of  the  priests  in  the  temple 
of  old ;  and  let  us  regard  each  opportunity  as  a 
sacred  bowl,  from  which  we  may  pour  out  some 
holy  libation  to  the  glory  of  God.  We  can  only 
live  like  this  when  we  have  consecrated  ourselves 
absolutely  to  God,  and  regard  our  entire  life  as 
being  marked  out  in  all  its  details  as  a  sacred 
plan.  It  is  good  also  carefully  to  observe  our 
priestly  office,  and  to  remember  that  we  are  a 
holy  nation  as  well  as  a  royal  priesthood. 
246 


Present  it  now  unto  thy  govertior. 

Mai.  i.  8  (R.  v.). 

MALACHI'S  special  work  was  in  stirring  up 
the  priesthood  to  their  duty,  to  the  proper  main- 
tenance of  the  Temple  services.  They  were  very 
careless  of  these,  and  treated  their  holy  duties 
with  great  contempt.  The  special  method 
adopted  seems  to  have  been  in  the  presentation 
of  the  blind,  the  lame,  and  sick  on  the  altar; 
while  the  healthy  and  whole  were  reserved  for 
private  use.  "The  table  of  the  Lord  was  pol- 
luted, and  His  meat  contemptible."  Such  un- 
concealed irreverence  and  greed  could  not  pass 
unrebuked.  They  are  asked  to  compare  their 
service  to  God  with  their  service  to  man ;  their 
sacrifices  in  the  Temple  with  their  gifts  before 
their  governors  and  rulers.  Would  these  be 
pleased,  and  accept  the  gift,  if  they  were  treated 
in  the  same  way  as  God  was  ? 

Professing  Christians  might  sometimes  be  ad- 
dressed in  the  same  terms.  When  they  slip  a 
copper  coin  into  the  collecting-bag,  which  they 
would  not  think  of  offering  to  the  butler  in  a 
friend's  house ;  when  they  give  more  to  the 
revenue  officer  than  to  the  Church  or  poor ;  when 
they  give  to  the  Lord's  work  whatever  they  can 
spare  without  loss,  and,  indeed,  are  glad  to  be 
rid  of;  whenever  they  spend  more  time  and 
strength  on  public  duties  than  on  the  calls  of 
Christianity — at  such  times  we  might  fairly  bid 
them  present  it  to  their  governor. 

Li  loth  verse  (r.  v.)  God  is  heard  asking  for 
some  one  to  close  the  doors  of  the  Temple.  He 
would  rather  this  than  be  mocked  by  such  heart- 
less rites.  It  was  as  though  He  would  rather  that 
no  prayers  were  offered,  no  services  maintained, 
no  holy  hymn  sung — than  that  there  should  be 
such  perfunctory  and  heartless  worship.  Let  us 
be  very  careful  against  this  spirit  in  our  daily  de- 
votions ! 

247 


He   walked  with  me  in  peace  and  uprightness, 
and  did  turn  many  away  from  iniquity.  Mai.  U.  6. 

THESE  inspiring  words,  especially  the  last 
clause,  might  well  hang  in  the  secret  chamber  of 
every  servant  of  God.  They  were  specially 
prized  by  the  sainted  R.  M.  McCheyne,  whose 
life  was  a  beautiful  exemplar  of  their  meaning. 
You  will  notice  that  covenant  dates  back  to  the 
righteous  zeal  of  Phinehas  for  the  honor  of  God 
(Num.  XXV.).  How  well  God  remembers  such 
things,  and  writes  them  in  ineffaceable  characters 
on  the  tablets  of  His  memory  !  But  what  a  con- 
trast between  that  noble  ancestry  and  the  degen- 
erate successors  of  Malachi's  days  ! 

Do  you  want  to  turn  many  away  from  iniquity? 
You  must  walk  with  God,  hourly,  constantly,  in 
blessed  and  intimate  fellowship,  learning  from 
Him  who  you  are  to  approach,  what  line  you  are 
to  follow  in  dealing  with  them,  and  the  message 
you  are  to  deliver.  You  must  expect  to  come 
into  collision  with  them  :  they  are  coming  in  one 
direction,  whilst  God  and  you  will  be  going  in 
just  the  reverse.  But  go  on  walking  with  God ; 
fear  His  fear;  know  the  terror  of  losing  His  com- 
panionship, even  for  a  moment;  be  perfectly 
transparent  in  speech  and  life ;  let  your  lips  be 
weighted  with  His  messages  only.  The  result 
will  more  than  compensate.  Yours  will  be  the 
abundant  life,  and  yours  the  peace  which  is  un- 
speakable ;  yours  will  be  the  uprightness  of  soul 
which  carries  the  Divine  radiance  on  its  face,  and 
yours  the  joy  in  arresting  the  way  of  transgressors 
and  sinners. 

Plead  this  promise:  "Lord,  let  me  be  used 
to  turn  many  away  from  iniquity,"  and  notice 
that  this  most  blessed  result  will  accrue  much  less 
from  what  you  say  than  from  what  you  are.  It 
was  Levi's  walk  and  converse  with  God,  more 
even  than  his  words,  that  produced  this  whole- 
sale reformation. 

248 


He  shall  purify  the  sons  of  Lein,  and  purge  them 
as  gold  and  silver.  Mai.  Hi.  j. 

IF  you  are  just  now  in  the  fire,  dear  soul,  be 
of  good  cheer — it  shows  at  least  that  you  are 
silver,  and  that  you  are  capable  of  performing 
more  acceptable  service  in  God's  holy  Temple. 
If  it  were  not  so,  God  would  not  take  so  much 
pains.  He  chastens  those  whom  He  loves,  and 
prunes  the  branches  that  are  already  bearing 
fruit.  What  a  comfort  it  is  that  He  surrenders 
this  work  to  no  other  hands  than  His  own.  He 
may  give  His  angels  charge  concerning  us  when 
we  are  in  danger ;  but  He  keeps  our  purification 
beneath  His  special  superintendence. 

But  notice  that  He  sits.  What  patience  is 
here  !  However  many  years  thou  mayest  have  to 
lie  on  that  couch.  He  will  sit  beside  thee.  The 
nurses  will  go  off  duty,  but  He  never.  Love  may 
faint  and  be  weary,  and  nod  into  light  slumbers ; 
but  He  never  slumbers  nor  sleeps.  Those  that 
were  most  frequent  in  attendances  may  drop  off; 
but  He  will  sit,  night  and  day — when  the  soul  is 
lonely,  and  when  the  room  is  filled  with  cheery- 
voices;  when  the  pain  is  almost  unbearable — 
reach  out  the  hand,  you  will  touch  His;  breathe 
the  softest  sigh.  He  will  answer,  *'I  am  here." 

And  the  process  will  be  continued  until  the 
scum  has  passed  away,  with  its  rebellion  and 
murmuring,  and  His  dear  face  shines,  sweetly 
mirrored  in  its  every  outline  and  lineament. 
Then  the  fires  will  die  down,  and  He  will  bid 
thee  arise  to  reap  the  full  reward.  God  is  set  on 
reviving  the  better,  holier  past,  to  which  some  of 
us  revert  with  tender  interest.  *'  It  was  better 
with  me  then  than  now,"  we  sometimes  say. 
But  the  tender  grace  of  those  days  that  are  dead 
will  come  again  to  the  soul,  who  yields  to  God's 
refining.  **The  offering  of  Judah  and  Jerusa- 
lem shall  be  pleasant  unto  the  Lord,  as  in  the 
days  of  old." 

249 


The  Sun  of  Righteousness  shall  arise  with  heal- 
ing in  his  wings.  Mai.  iv.  2. 

AT  the  end  of  the  Old  Testament  it  is  meet 
that  the  sun  should  break  out.  The  morning 
that  broke  on  Paradise  was  clear  enough.  It  was 
without  clouds.  But  the  sky  soon  became  dark- 
ened, and  at  last  veiled,  with  only  here  and  there 
a  chink  of  blue  sky  left.  All  through  the  dark 
succeeding  centuries  there  have  been  gleams  of 
sunshine  to  let  men  know  that  the  sun  was  shin- 
ing still.  Every  precious  promise,  every  solemn 
type,  every  holy  life,  that  was  bathed  in  super- 
natural beauty,  was  like  a  shining  forth  of  the 
sun  through  the  bars  of  human  darkness  and  sin. 
But  evidently  more  was  in  store  than  Old  Testa- 
ment saints  had  dreamed ;  and  the  time  was 
coming  when  the  reign  of  type,  symbol,  and 
parable,  would  be  succeeded  by  the  clear  vision 
of  the  face  of  God. 

We  live  in  the  days  of  open  vision.  Let  us  go 
forth  and  exult.  We  are  to  rejoice  in  every  good 
thing  He  gives  us.  As  the  young  calves  of  the 
early  spring  manifest  their  exuberant  life  in  their 
caperings  and  gambols  in  the  pastures,  so  let  us 
give  expressions  to  our  joy.  Exult  because  of 
the  clear  shining  of  God's  love  :  exult  because 
the  darkness  is  past,  and  the  true  light  now 
shineth :  exult  because  He  is  coming  again,  as 
surely  as  He  came  once.  Wake  up,  my  soul, 
take  psaltery  and  harp,  and  sing.  The  Bride- 
groom is  at  hand.  Hark  I  are  those  His  chariot 
wheels  reverberating  through  the  air?  Even  so  ! 
Lord  Jesus,  come  quickly  ! 


250 


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